Samenvatting

Over the past two decades, leaders in the global economic broadcasting system have encouraged the liberalisation of the free market in hope that channels would spread the content of local shows to the rest of the world (European Commission). In recent years, however, awareness of the detriments of internet freedom has increased (McGrane, 2009). Broadcasters, networks, content producers and governments increasingly lost scrutiny on the organizations that power its freedom by providing (free) content anywhere anytime. Close analysis of case studies and comprehensive statistics show that the rigidity of television stakeholders, as well as the hypocrisy of the internet stakeholders and its often illegal online system, have prevented the benefits of freedom of information from reaching the world's television content consumers (McGrane, 2009). And because television is of great commercial interest, it is one of America's biggest export products, stakeholders are still trying to grasp the future of the television market (E. Karstens, 2010). Therefore, the question answered in this research is: What additional effects will the accessibility of online television have on the consumer behavior towards offline television in The Netherlands according to trends in the US and the UK?

7 trends are discovered during the research and respond to the research question with the following conclusion: More likely effects caused by online television content consumption on classic television consumption in the Netherlands are mainly technological potential being repressed by traditional stakeholders. Due to the restriction of technological developments the following trends occur in the near future: strengthening of the local content market by EU subsidizing, new content services and platforms gaining more customers, increasing interaction between television programs and consumers by social media or the use of second screens, and meeting a small part of new consumer demand by offering enhanced online and offline combined services.