• by Wayne Friedman , June 13, 2012

The merger of the Internet and TV on traditional TV screens isn't nearly complete -- but it continues to grow quickly through various means.

So far this year, 21% of TV consumers have connected to the Internet through the traditional TV boxes. This is up from 16% a year ago, according to a national consumer study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates in late March.

The survey says another 30% of consumers are interested in also being connected. Most of these will be male TV viewers -- 58%, and slightly older than those already connected: 25 to 54. The current adopters of this connectivity are male TV viewers -- 56% versus 44%, female. More than half are between ages 18 and 44.

Though older sets can be connected in many ways, primary connection currently comes from gaming consoles -- Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. After that, connection is made through new smart TVs, followed by Blu-Ray players, and then over-the-top devices coming from Roku, Apple TV, and Google TV.

Connected TV users primarily use their systems for Web browsing, viewing videos through subscription services, such as Netflix, online gaming and visiting Facebook, in addition to other Web services and content.