Tablets, computers and phones threaten TV takeover

NEW streaming services, like Foxtel Play, are encouraging Australians to watch TV shows on small screens.

Not everyone pirates Game of Thrones, which has been a huge hit on Foxtel.

THE television is losing its grip as the most watched screen in the home, with a new range of TV streaming services threatening the big screen's dominance.

Industry experts say Australian audiences are already turning to tablets, computers, and even the small screens of smartphones to catch up on their favourite TV shows, and the trend will receive a boost today as Foxtel officially launches a new pay-as-you-go internet TV service.

Foxtel Play will be available on a range of devices, including the Xbox 360 games console and laptop computers, and will join a growing number of TV-streaming services including Fetch TV, ABC iView, SBS On Demand, Quickflix and Apple's iTunes Store.

Telsyte research director Foad Fadaghi said Australians were becoming more accustomed to streaming TV shows, to watch them where and when they wanted, rather than waiting for programs to be broadcast.

"A lot of people have been conditioned by ABC iView and SBS's catch-up TV service, or even YouTube and Vimeo, so it's not unusual for viewers to be watching TV on computing devices,'' Mr Fadaghi said.

"People are now likely to watch TV on a tablet at home, or on a PC in another room."

Mr Fadaghi said even the television screen was "not just a TV for most households" any more, as it was being used to host "computer content as much as TV content".

Not everyone pirates Game of Thrones, which has been a huge hit on Foxtel.

Foxtel product executive director Jim Rudder said the viewing trend could already be seen with its Foxtel Play offering, which went live on July 30 and officially launches today.

The TV-streaming service lets users watch pay-TV channels through an Xbox 360, late model Samsung smart TV, or on a PC or Mac computer.

Mr Rudder said the company had been "surprised" to discover that the first two options were not the most popular.

"We didn't expect such a big uptake with PC and Mac viewing - it's been the strongest,'' he said.

"We thought maybe the smart TV experience would be the most popular, and it's been strong too, but the strongest response by far has been with PC and Mac."

The contract-free Foxtel Play service offers users a choice of 47 live TV channels divided into four channel packs, with a monthly subscription starting at $25.

Movie and sports packages are available for an additional $25 each.

Play users also receive access to the Foxtel Go on-demand TV-streaming service available on Apple iPads and iPhones, and some Samsung phones and tablets.

Mr Rudder said the Go app had already been downloaded more than one million times since its November launch and had more than 360,000 users.

Rather than watch TV shows on demand, however, Go users were typically choosing to stream channels live.

"Eighty per cent of the viewing is still live,'' he said. "The biggest proportion of viewing has been for Sky News and sport and on the weekend we're getting big peaks."

Mr Fadaghi said TV streaming services in Australia were likely to increase further with the introduction of faster broadband speeds and mobile phone connections, and as TV streaming rights became more straightforward.

Rights issues currently prevent Foxtel (part-owned by News Corp, publisher of this newspaper) from screening some channels, including AFL Footy Play, SF and TV1 on computers.

But Roy Morgan research this month found 18 per cent of Mac users and 9 per cent of PC users were already streaming TV shows at home, and 8 per cent of Mac users were streaming movies.

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