Interactive TV: 1; Online TV: 0

Went to two conferences this week, FT Mobile Media and Online TV and Video, organised by Informa.

Ironically, one message that came out of the Online TV conference was that, in fact, computers and broadband still don't have a patch on traditional TVs when it comes to viewer numbers for video.

Channel 4, which launched its 4OD on-demand service at the end of 2006, has been running it simultaneously as a digital interactive service with pay-TV providers (Virgin Media, Homechoice and BT Vision), and as a PC-based service accessed via broadband. 4OD is a mixture of catch-up TV with a selection of archived programmes and films.

"4OD is overwhelmingly viewed more on TVs than it is on PCs," said Cosmo Lush, head of product development, told me. "I would say that pay-TV viewers outnumber PC viewers at a ratio of four to one."

He did point out that the PC user base has doubled since Channel 4 added extra free content earlier this year--but that potentially means that only one in eight people were using the PC service before.

One issue might be the hurdle of getting people to download a client onto their computers just to be able to use the service. (Another exec I met a few weeks ago from Channel 4 noted that while more men than women downloaded the client, women tended to use it more regularly-- meaning that among those that bother to download it, some never actually register and use it.)

But Lush at Channel 4 said the PC version of the service "will continue to evolve."

They have good reasons to keep pushing it, even if it's much less popular than the TV version. Since Channel 4 can offer the PC version direct to consumers without the need for partnerships with pay-TV providers, it gives them potentially a much better return on any revenues they make from it (from advertising or subs for premium content).

And it's of course so much easier to promote it and get people to click straight into the service direct from other places online. (Lush pointed out that search advertising, a la Google and Yahoo, has been an excellent investment for them so far.)

That's not to say that there's not room for developments of the TV version of 4OD. Channel 4 has yet to sign up the U.K. pay-TV market leader, BSkyB, to the service.