It is turning from a trickle into a torrent, that is the number of viewers being lured away from standard broadcast/cable TV and onto advertising funded internet tv that is available to view for free. But even more of a threat is another form of free tv – online piracy.

So was the opinion of attendees to London based media research company Screen Digest’s annual Peve Digital Entertainment Conference.

When we reach 2011, advertising funded, internet TV shows will account for 10 times US consumption more than than paid internet TV content, according to Screen Digest’s broadband media senior analyst Dan Cryan.

Dan has warned that the challenge for digital rights holders was persuading consumers to pay for content available now for free.

BlinkBox Entertainment CEO, Michael Comish called piracy “a new channel … bigger and more powerful than FNAC, Tesco’s, Blockbuster video and WalMart combined together.”

The majority of speakers suggested the adoption of the Bluray HD DVD format was in line as expected.

Supermarket chain Tesco’s Robert Salter said the stores are now dedicating up to 20% of shelf space in some stores to Bluray.

David Bishop, of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, insisted that home entertainment is still a $50 billion per annum business. Bluray sales are being driven by consumers’ upgrade to HD Televisions, he commented.

Over half of all US. homes now have HD Television and more than 78 million in Europe will have them by the end of the year, according to Screen Digest.

It is good to know that the might of entertainment companies, networks and video companies are now embracing the idea of the internet TV revolution.

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