AnildeMello.

Two years ago, the Internet was aflutter with the potential of Web video. Scripted series, such as “Ask a Ninja” and “Chad Vader,” were courting development deals, and actress Jessica Rose, the star of the “Lonelygirl15” series on YouTube, was gracing the cover of magazines such as Wired. Hollywood agencies were starting online talent departments and media companies were looking for ways to profit from the influx of new material. That exuberance has since dissipated.

The research shows that for some 18-24 year olds the PC is often the only television screen while for others it can be a second or third screen. To this generation, TV frequently means video delivered on demand, with one in seven 18-24 year olds now watching no live TV at all.

More and more viewers will be lured away from broadcast and cable TV to ad-funded online entertainment, available to viewers for free. But online piracy — another form of free-to-view digital entertainment — is the industry’s biggest threat.