Half of the Spanish population may have internet access now, but they still prefer the traditional TV.

MADRID - Although 50 percent of Spaniards now have access to the internet, the majority of the population still prefers to watch their screened entertainment the traditional way: on the TV.

According to a survey by the studio Televidente 2.0, which took answers from 3,000 people as well as 13 focus groups, 42.5 percent of Spaniards find the idea of watching TV anywhere - on a laptop or cellphone - tempting. But around 26 percent of those questioned said they had no interest whatsoever.

Sixty percent of those interviewed said that they also would not be interested in paying to watch a TV show on their cellphones, citing the price of the service as well as the low quality of the image. Viewing of audiovisual content on 3G cellphones - which are necessary for downloading images - has dropped 29 percent in 2006 from 17 percent last year.

Paying for downloads
Despite the high rates of illegal downloads in Spain, 63 percent of those interviewed said they would be willing to pay to download a new movie release. Thirty-eight percent of those interviewed would pay to see a soccer game that wasn't being broadcast on terrestrial TV, while 48 percent would pay to download episodes of shows that had not yet been broadcast.

But for most, YouTube is the big star. Thirty-five percent of those questioned said they access the site at least once a week, while 64 percent visit it once a month.

[Copyright El Pais / M. R. Sahuquillo 2008]