According to a recent report on TV viewership data gathered by NBC (NY Times, October 17, 2008), free Internet streaming is the most popular alternative to traditional television, accounting for roughly a quarter of total viewing based on field surveys of their TV episodes. Aside from streaming, paid downloads, VOD (video on demand) and mobile viewing were also assessed but their numbers were insignificant at best. The impressive amount of Internet streaming has indeed cast the writing on the wall for free TV on PC.



Actually, Internet TV is nothing new. It's just that supporting infrastructure had not been in its favor in the early days. Conditions have advanced by heaps by now: broadband access, power PCs, super-sized storage and open hardware, software and networking. On top of it, internet user base volume has also long surpassed the critical mass level. The web is clearly rich for the picking by many an industry, not least Television.

Different kinds of television are distributed over the internet nowadays and the few most notable ones are Internet TV (ITV), Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), Broadband TV and User Generated Content TV (UGC TV). To broadly distinguish among themselves; ITV is free open-format video streaming, IPTV is closed and usually require set-top boxes governed under pay-per-view or subscription structure, Broadband TV is much like ITV with extended real-time interactive capabilities such as messaging, on-demand media, images and UGC TV are basically free-style individual short clips such as the immensely popular YouTube.

There are obvious benefits to be found in Internet TV for both the programming providers and viewers. Viewership is a key factor. It's on this account that programming providers are drawn. The carrot for them would be the potential advertising revenue or other similar agendas. On top of it, entry and set-up is as simplistic as it gets. Viewers won't quarrel with Internet TV either. It's free and it rocks.

TV and Internet, these are the two greatest pastimes of modern lifestyle. The situation is perfectly set for TV on PC. It will consolidate and optimize many things, none more than expenditure, time and even space. The majority of homes and workplaces are already equipped for it as all that's needed is a PC with internet access. Most of all, it will be a breakthrough for the many who are constantly torn between TV and internet, be it leisure, work or studies.

Internet TV is on a roll. Tons of Free TV on PC is readily found on any of the major search engines. The trick is to be able to search and zero in on those of your choice and interest. Viewers are prone to get lost amidst the abundance of free online programming but for some specialized software that are dedicated to gather the cream amongst them for your selection. These proprietary computer programs are not free but the right ones are well worth the money.