Michael Arrington at Techcrunch today and Steve Gillmor a month ago declared TV dead. While I have not turned mine for quite a while, I can not agree. Give it three - five more years — maybe. Today TV is still alive.

Here are a few numbers to consider:

• Based on Pew Internet report by March 2006, only 42% of American adults had high speed internet connection at home. That is half of adult US population does not have high speed internet while an average American family has more TV units than people (sorry, no link to source).
  Pew Internet does not clarify how they define an “adult” (unless I missed a footnote somewhere).
• US population is getting older and computer usage / internet adoption does not increase with age; it is quite the opposite. Currently, 110 mil people or 37% if the US population are over 45 yo. In 2010, projections are that there will be $121 mil or 39% over 45 yo. At that age, questioning of all new prevails over adoption of the “next cool thing”. Online video is certainly in that category.
• Even if we assume that 42% of those who have access to high speed is evenly distributed among all ages, how many of those 37% above 45 who have access know what RSS feeds are and how to look up news besides going to Google News, let alone how many will bother (or will know) to go to YouTube that is mostly a home of 18-44 yo?
• Those over 45 possess most of purchasing power. — Think Baby Boomers as a major part of the equation.
• While advertising budgets started shifting from off-line to on-line media, the online advertising market ($12.5 bil in 2005) is still at best 1/6 of the TV advertising market ($74 bil).
• I would not even start getting into the world stats in this post — internet penetration will vary significantly from country to country and even within countries (if we look just at China and India).

And a few examples from personal experience:

• TV is great in the gym when running on treadmill. Grey’s Anatomy brought me to marathon. Hardly it would have worked on iPod for that very reason. Larry King Live has certainly been high on the list as well.
  After endless hours in the online / digital world, TV in the gym for me is priceless.
• When I tell my acquaintances (of ages from 25 to 65) that I do not watch TV, they look at me as at an Neanderthal man (or woman). Their perception of me as an education person immediately changes to the very opposite.
• When in a futile attempt to explain why I do not need to (do not want) to watch TV, I tell them that I read all news on MyYahoo, by their looks I can tell I lost them. If I mention that I may listen to podcasts on the background while typing or glancing over news, the looks become even more absent.
• They feel sorry about me. I feel sorry about them .
  We manage to remain friendly as long as we do not discuss our TV / no TV preferences.