Study: 1 in 8 US consumers will ditch or cut back on pay TV in 2010

Many have long suffered ever-increasing cable and satellite TV bills without much recourse, since competition has been weak, or nonexistent depending on your location. But the slow economic recovery and the growing availability of online video has apparently finally created an opportunity for consumers to scale down their pay-TV bills—or unplug their sets altogether—according to a new study.

A Yankee Group report finds that one in eight Americans is looking to cut back on his or her pay-TV service, whether that entails getting rid of premium channels or switching it off altogether. And it's not too difficult to spot where those people's eyeballs will wonder. As more TV programming moves to the Web, and as online video services like iTunes and Netflix's Watch Instantly streaming grow in popularity, there are fewer reasons for a casual viewer to pay $100 per month for channels he or she isn't ever going to watch.

Of course, eliminating the pay-TV line item from your budget may not be completely possible, as you may start paying to watch Hulu's online service and you need to be a Netflix subscriber to stream movies. But you may wind up paying just $20 per month if you're not addicted to your HDTV. And you'll have more options to watch video on the go, rather than being stuck in front of a set.

Are you ready to ditch your cable or satellite TV service? Or do you still think it's worth the money for your level of TV viewing (I'm talking to your, sports fans)? Let us know about your decision in our TalkBack section.