• Tech Crunch, Wednesday, April 6, 2011 11:37 AM

Cutting the proverbial cord, 2 million U.S. households are expected to abandon TV for the Web by year's end. That's according to Convergence Consulting Group, which reports that U.S. cord cutters hit 1.6 million last year. Regarding this year's estimate, TechCrunch say it's "still rather small and the number of cord cutters may very well have peaked last year as cable companies begin to fight back with TV Everywhere offerings."
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More much likely, according to TechCrunch, is that consumers will increasingly keep their cable but add Web TV streaming or downloads to their lives. According to Convergence, 18% of viewers in the U.S. watched free, full episodes of TV on the Web last year, and that has consistently been growing by a percentage point every year.

Also of note, the research group estimates that Netflix revenues from online-only subscribers in the U.S. will grow from $172 million this year to $578 million in 2013. "And if you add in Hulu Plus," notes TechCrunch, "the combined streaming revenues from both companies will reach an estimated $800 million in two years."

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