It’s not only the dancing babies or fat kids on rollercoasters that make up the nations main online viewing experience anymore, as Internet television is fast developing into a genuine and competitive format of its own, as a wide selection of big names in both broadcasting and in technology have announced many products and initiatives that have the potential to revolutionise the way in which consumers digest their online video content.

Google plans to form big and effective partnerships such as with Sony this autumn for a project that will blend streams from the Internet and broadcast programming on tv screens. Hulu, the popular online video site, has revealed plans for a pay service that will delivers their broadcast shows across the Internet and through medium such as computers, TVs, the iPhone and iPad, as well as several gaming consoles. Meanwhile, Sonic Solutions of Novato have struck a deal with Sears Holdings Corp. to provide their retail customers with online rentals and downloads of movies and TV shows over an array of Internet-connected devices.

The approaches to these services will vary, but they all present genuine alternatives to what most of us have come to accept as the norm: Paying $50-plus a month to pipe in a handful of channels that we actually want – along with hundreds we don’t – in order to watch the few programs we’re interested in, largely at the time we’re told.

Such new services will allow consumers to pick from a broader array of content options, enjoy online programs through the so-called lean back experience of full-size TV screens or the portable viewing with various mobile devices, choose when they’d like to watch without the need to remember to set a recording and, particularly in the case of Google TV, take advantage of brand new interactive features.

Most of the companies that are enabling what’s known as “over the top” services stress they’re looking to augment rather than displace the offerings of cable or satellite companies. But analysts think the additional power offered to consumers will leave the legacy companies with a stark choice: progress or perish.

“The future of Internet-enhanced TV starts now,” says James McQuivey, the media technology analyst at Forrester Research. “It’s really forcing cable … to be more focused on consumer control and access across multiple devices.”

Over 800,000 US households have already scaled down cable TV subscriptions, as they now seem to rely almost exclusively on online tv services, according to an April report by the Convergence Consulting Group. The Toronto firm predicts that this figure could reach 1.6 million by the end of 2011. The Yankee Group estimates that as many as 1 in 8 consumers will unplug or downgrade their paid TV service by April, as they take advantage of the over the top options.

But cable and satellite companies aren’t sitting idly by. Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. are pursuing “TV Everywhere” strategies that deliver their vast content to already paying customers over the devices of their choosing. They’re also supplementing offerings with on demand services and digital video recorders, which share similar advantages to watching online. TV networks are also attempting to break ahead in this new game, as channels like ABC and NBC deliver more content directly on their Web sites. Today, however, most of these approaches leave the broadcasters with less revenue, as they are unable to pack in too many ads. Ultimately, the companies must deliver more targeted ads, which are seen as  more lucrative, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. Internet TV could make this possible in ways that Nielsen ratings never could.

To date, such specific initiatives haven’t exactly upended the industry. But analysts say that Internet TV momentum is clearly building, driven by the increasing adoption and speed of broadband as well as the widening availability of these services, and some believe that Google TV could represent a watershed moment. “It’s the first one I would say that represents a brand-new model,” Bajarin added.

Notably, it’s not restricted to a particular set of services like many of the Internet TV attempts to date, instead incorporating the Internet at large. In addition, it’s based on an open platform, Google’s Android operating system. The Mountain View company hopes that this will help create an industry standard that propels adoption and innovation, said Rishi Chandra, product manager for Google TV.

Out of the box, the Google-powered Internet TVs and set-top devices will allow users to tap into the company’s highly developed search capability to find video, music and other content not just among their cable programming but across the Internet.

Meanwhile, new ‘picture-in-picture’ capabilities could enable them to, say, pull up sports statistics as they watch the Super Bowl, chat live about World Cup matches with viewers on the other side of the globe, or click to buy that ironic trucker hat Judah Friedlander is wearing on “30 Rock.”

An ’open source’ platform could also enable developers to invent tools and toys that can’t be predicted today, much as Apple’s App Store did for smart phones. Google is providing their platform for free, but anticipates making money from advertising within Google TV. It won’t take a cut from the ads in traditional programming, but will employ information gleaned from the ways consumers use the service to improve ad targeting on the interactive side.

As with behavioral advertising, this approach could cause huge controversy through people who prefer their privacy. But, like most Internet services to date, the majority of consumers will be likely to decide that such trade-offs are more than worthwhile, as McQuivey stated: “Ask the 400 million people on Facebook whether the concerns outweigh the benefits,” he said.

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