• by Wayne Friedman , August 26, 2015

Connected TV homes continue to make gains in the TV marketplace.

Now 45% of TV sets sold in the U.S. are connected TVs -- up from 34% a year ago and 24% two years ago, according to The NPD Group. And those who made those purchases are increasingly activating their connected TV sets: 69% of those Internet-capable TVs are connected, up from 45% two years ago.

From a total of around 116 million TV homes, 46 million have a connected TV set, up 4 million from a year ago.

Netflix continues to be the most used non-traditional Internet-connected TV service among homes with connected TVs, when it comes to on-screen TV apps. Netflix is followed by YouTube, Amazon Prime/Instant Video, Hulu and HBO Go/Now. HBO is now the top traditional TV brand when it comes to digital platforms on connected TV.

NPD Group surveyed 5,000 U.S. consumers, age 18 and older through the second quarter of 2015. The number of installed and internet connected devices includes those that deliver broadband applications and are connected to the Internet.