Tuning out
As major television companies stream their most popular shows online, college students find less need for televisions.
By Pete Smith
Posted: 4/15/08, 12:37 AM EST Section: News
It seems more and more college students are putting down their remote controls and picking up their laptops to watch their favorite television programs. A nationwide trend is showing a shift in interest from flat-screen TVs to flat-screen computer monitors - especially on college campuses.
"When my daughter started college six years ago, every single dorm room had a television," said Glenda Manzi, a professor at Tufts University's Experimental College, in an interview with The Tufts Daily.
"Two years later, my son started college, and barely anybody had TVs in their room - there were maybe three people on his floor who had them," she said. "Now, I can't even imagine what the case would be."
Manzi extended this notion of a trend to those in her class - 21st Century Television: Media in the Age of YouTube, Facebook and MP3s.
"I first taught (the class) in the spring semester of last year, and even in one year, the amount of video consumed by students on laptops has doubled," Manzi said. "When I first taught the class, maybe half the class would say they watch (TV online). Now, virtually everyone raises their hand."
According to Nielsen Media Research, a provider of television audience measurement and advertising information services, while 9.7 million people watched the fourth season premier of NBC's hit show, "The Office," 2.7 million people streamed that same episode online that same week - meaning more than one quarter of the broadcast viewing audience watched the episode online.
"I don't have a TV in my room, so if I'm going to watch TV it's going to be on my computer," said Eliot Bugda, a freshman engineering major at Syracuse University. "It's so much easier because I can pause and rewind whenever I want, and there are very little to no commercials."
Media conglomerates are quickly recognizing there is money to be made in online streaming media. Corporations such as ABC, NBC and CBS have started streaming classic shows such as "Star Trek," "MacGyver," "The A-Team" and "I Dream of Jeannie" on their Web sites as a way to sell more advertising space.
"When my daughter started college six years ago, every single dorm room had a television," said Glenda Manzi, a professor at Tufts University's Experimental College, in an interview with The Tufts Daily.
"Two years later, my son started college, and barely anybody had TVs in their room - there were maybe three people on his floor who had them," she said. "Now, I can't even imagine what the case would be."
Manzi extended this notion of a trend to those in her class - 21st Century Television: Media in the Age of YouTube, Facebook and MP3s.
"I first taught (the class) in the spring semester of last year, and even in one year, the amount of video consumed by students on laptops has doubled," Manzi said. "When I first taught the class, maybe half the class would say they watch (TV online). Now, virtually everyone raises their hand."
According to Nielsen Media Research, a provider of television audience measurement and advertising information services, while 9.7 million people watched the fourth season premier of NBC's hit show, "The Office," 2.7 million people streamed that same episode online that same week - meaning more than one quarter of the broadcast viewing audience watched the episode online.
"I don't have a TV in my room, so if I'm going to watch TV it's going to be on my computer," said Eliot Bugda, a freshman engineering major at Syracuse University. "It's so much easier because I can pause and rewind whenever I want, and there are very little to no commercials."
Media conglomerates are quickly recognizing there is money to be made in online streaming media. Corporations such as ABC, NBC and CBS have started streaming classic shows such as "Star Trek," "MacGyver," "The A-Team" and "I Dream of Jeannie" on their Web sites as a way to sell more advertising space.
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