Internet will revolutionise TV, says Gates

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates

The internet will revolutionise television to such an extent in the next five years that people will laugh at our current viewing habits, according to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. 

"I am stunned at how people are not seeing that with TV, in five years from now, people will laugh at what we have had," he said in a speech to politicians and heads of business at the World Economic Forum. 

Gates maintained that the growth in high-speed internet access, the convergence of PCs and televisions and a wealth of content on sites such as YouTube pointed to the future.

"Certain things like elections or the Olympics really point out how TV is terrible," he explained.

"You have to wait for the guy to talk about the thing you care about, or you miss the event and want to go back and see it. The internet presentation of these things is vastly superior."

Gates said that traditional TV programmes would be routinely delivered over the internet as convergence gathers pace.

"Because TV is moving into being delivered over the internet, and some of the big phone companies are building up the infrastructure for this, you are going to have that experience all together," he said.