• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, February 20, 2014

Connected TV usage is on the rise, and about 63% of broadband homes now have at least one TV linked to the Internet, according to a just-released report from The Diffusion Group. That’s a 19% rise from last year, and includes both smart TVs and TVs connected via game consoles or other means. The research firm also found that many homes have more than one set connected: about 42% of connected TV owners have more than one TV hooked up to the Web.

Many of these consumers are watching Netflix and other over-the-top video services via these TVs, which raises the question of whether such usage might take away from time spent watching traditional TV. “The real debate is the extent to which the growing availability and expanding use of ‘OTT TV’ services will have on the time viewers spend watching traditional pay-TV given the growing array of sources at their disposal. While not a simple zero-sum game, we are nearing or at that breaking point where the growing use of broadband-based sources simply chips away at time once spent using traditional sources,” said Michael Greeson, TDG president and director of research, in the report.

While cord-cutting has not become a massive trend in and of itself, those homes that have eliminated multichannel video service offer an interesting look at “what’s next” behavior. Broadband-only homes account for less than 5% of homes in the U.S., but they are twiceas likely to own game consoles and own tablets as other homes, Nielsen said in its latest report  on digital behavior. This group of consumers is small but has doubled in the last few years, so may offer interesting insight into “how the living room will evolve in the future,” Nielsen said.