For reasons that include saving money, convenience, personal choice and a disdain for commercials, these viewers are cutting the cord from cable, satellite and telephone suppliers of TV service, and even throwing away the rabbit ears and other antennas that brought in over-the-air broadcasts.

"The idea that you come home and your entertainment choices are dictated on what some entertainment channel decides is not for me," said video game producer Chris Codding, who has a 52-inch Sony television that he uses only for video games and viewing DVDs.

"I really like the concept of having something in your mind that you want to watch," he said, "and then going to the computer and watching it."

There have been no mainstream studies on how many people have cut the cord to established TV program suppliers, and the percentage of viewers who have done it is probably small. But there's plenty of evidence that the number of people who are watching TV shows online is growing.

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