As television broadcast content is more available and viewed over the Internet, some people have speculated that consumers are increasingly watching these shows online. To examine if this has become a pattern, IMMI recently conducted a review of fourteen primetime shows on two major networks during the fall of 2007 and the spring of 2008.
The review examined what segments of the consumer population were watching primetime network programming episodes live (i.e. as they first aired on TV), and what segments chose to watch this programming online.
There are many anecdotal explanations as to why this change in behavior may be occurring. Here are just a few examples:

• -A viewer finds a broadcast time is inconvenient and wants to watch online at a time of her choice.
  
• -A viewer has missed episodes of a reality competition show (like Dancing with the Stars), and needs to catch up on missed episodes.
  
• -A viewer hears about a new show at work and wants to check it out.
  
• -A viewer wants to watch a particular show again after seeing it on TV.
  

This report draws on data gathered by the IMMI system from a panel of 3000 members in six major DMAs: New York, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami.

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