The FINANCIAL -- Over the past year, research has revealed the gaming console as the method used by a plurality of US consumers to connect a TV to the internet in order to watch online content.

Now, the 2011 edition of Deloitte and Harrison Group’s “Changing the Game: State of the Media Democracy” report shows usage of video game consoles as TV viewing devices rising at a rapid pace.

It’s still much more common for web users to watch their favorite TV shows live on television, recorded on their DVR or via their cable system’s “on demand” feature. But viewing on a video game console—the only option on the survey involving an internet-to-TV connection—had tripled in popularity since 2009, from 3% to 9% of survey respondents.

Video game consoles were twice as popular for watching favorite TV shows among both “trailing” and “leading” millennials than among the average of all age groups, with nearly one in five millennials reporting having done so in the past six months. The drop off among older age groups was steep.

The report found no one over 65 watched TV via a video game console at all.When respondents were asked to choose a single preferred method for viewing their favorite shows, just 3% chose consoles. But among younger users, that share was higher, led by trailing millennials at 8%. For this group, watching via console was preferred over “on demand” systems, DVDs and Blu-ray discs, and TV show websites. Only live TV or DVR programs ranked noticeably better among 14- to 22-year-olds; viewing from free online video services was slightly higher, as well.

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