You bet we’re watching TV on our computers:

“It has become a mainstream behavior in an extraordinarily quick time,” said Alan Wurtzel, the head of research for NBC, which is owned by General Electric and Vivendi. “It isn’t just the province of college students or generation Y-ers. It spans all ages.”

A study in October by Nielsen Media Research found that one in four Internet users had streamed full-length television episodes online in the last three months, including 39 percent of people ages 18 to 34 and, more surprisingly, 23 percent of those 35 to 54.

“I think what we’re seeing right now is a great cultural shift of how this country watches television,” said Seth MacFarlane, the creator of “Family Guy,” a Fox animated comedy that ranks among the most popular online shows. “Forty years ago, new technology changed what people watched on TV as it migrated to color. Now new technology is changing where people watch TV, literally omitting the actual television set.”

That’s from a NYTimes piece called “Serving Up Television Without the TV Set.”

Les Moonves, who runs CBS , though, thinks his TV ad revenue isn’t going to be affected by what’s happening online, that it will only be additive. Here’s what he says:

“Marketers convention wisdom is that ads on internet will take away from other media. Hasn’t happened yet. Mostly print and radio will be affected. Our online revenues are north of $200 million, growing 30 to 40 percent. It’s not affecting TV. It’s not subtractive, it’s additive. Most advertisers want to participate in both.” Link.

If I were having dinner with Les, I’d say take the fact that online revenue is growing 30 percent as a real sign that TV works online. But don’t make a huge mistake in thinking that because you haven’t seen a decline yet on the broadcast TV side that the business is safe.

I’d tell him that he has three years to figure out how to deliver great TV online and give advertisers something to be excited about.

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