There's plenty of buzz surrounding video on the Internet, but movie studios and cable networks shouldn't bet on it as the next money maker, according to a new report by Convergence Consulting.

About 55 million U.S. households have high-speed Internet access, while about 94 million subscribe to cable and satellite-TV services. By 2010, those numbers are expected to be roughly the same, prompting a rush by cable companies to the Internet.

Cable networks derive their revenue almost equally from advertising and programming deals with satellite-TV and cable providers. Cutting them out of the picture by going directly to the Internet means forgoing about $21 billion a year in sales, Toronto- based Convergence said.

Studios take in almost half their revenue and more than half their profits from DVD sales primarily at retailers such as Wal-Mart. By letting Apple, Amazon and other sites sell movies in the same DVD release window, the studios "have put their most important distribution channel in competition" with those online services, the report said.

Online movie and TV show downloading accounts for a scant 2 percent of DVD sales, but Convergence forecasts that to be 8 percent by 2009.

If anyone is poised to benefit, it's the cable operators who are offering new releases via their video on demand services.

davisj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2514