The deployment of fast broadband to many homes has already seen a surge in the number of consumers who are watching long-form video online. In the UK, the Guardian newspaper reported that the BBC’s iPlayer online video service received 70 million requests for content in the month of October 2009 (about two thirds of those requests were for video content) and transferred seven petabytes of data. In the same month in Australia iTnews reported that the ABC’s iView service had 286,000 visitors who visited the site 1.05 times – its highest result on record.

Clearly consumers are becoming accustomed to watching television that is delivered to them via the internet, and it is likely that many more would do so if they had access to a fast and reliable service.

Broadcast licences were once the jewels in the crowns of media empires, but those days will soon be over. The challenge now for traditional broadcasters is to adapt their models for this new world, where their ability to secure and promote content may be much more valuable to investors and advertisers than simply their ability to broadcast it.