New paradigm in TV consumption?

The last blog entry went a little bit into the details of my monthly television billing, but was there for a purpose. I am not sure how many people like me exist, maybe I'm unique, or maybe not. But this experience has lead me to believe that with the availability of broadband at home, the need for me to watch TV is decreasing. Had I had the option of subscribing to a monthly service that would provide me with movies/TV programming whenever I wanted it for a price point lower than basic plus cable, I might be one of the first to jump onto it.

All I'd need is something to hook up to my TV. I understand Microsoft Media PC tries to enablea similar experience, but I would prefer a more simpler device that could be latched onto my TV or better yet, an Internet enabled set top box that can receive such Internet broadcasts. Being a loyal Yahoo! Launchcast user, I understand the benifits of personalized Internet radio, and in this case television. Its high time Internet based, personalized TV services becomes a reality. Now, with recent annoncements by SBC regarding their upcoming Internet TV service, I am starting to believe that that future is not too far ahead. My personal opinion is that we will start to see more SBCs in the future - large telecommunications companies providing converged services ranging from wired telephone access, DSL service, VoIP service, Cellular service all the way to Internet based television service. Comcast is large enough to want to think in this direction - I'm sure they've got something stirring in their pot.

So until then, I'm happy with my monthly 'movie buffet' deal from the local video store.