Commentary

2/3 of US TV Households Internet Connected

Consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds that 65% of US TV households have at least one television set connected to the Internet via a video game system, a smart TV set, a Blu-ray player, and/or a stand-alone device (like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, or Amazon Fire TV), up from 44% in 2013, and 24% in 2010.

Among those with any connected TV devices, 74% have more than one device, with a mean of 3.3 per connected TV household. 70% of all with a connected TV agree (8-10 on a 1-10 scale) that streaming services like Netflix are easy to access via connected TV devices, while 12% disagree.

The study also found that 77% of TV sets in pay-TV households have a pay-TV provider’s set-top box, with a mean of 2.2 boxes per pay-TV household. Pay-TV subscribers tend to express little enmity toward set-top boxes:

  • 20% with a pay-TV HD set-top box agree that set-top boxes from TV companies are a waste of money, while 44% disagree
  • 42% with a pay-TV HD set-top box agree that set-top boxes from TV companies provide features that add value to the TV service, while 16% disagree
  • 68% with 3 or more set-top boxes are very satisfied with their pay-TV provider, compared to 54% with 1-2 set-top boxes

Overall, there are more connected TV devices in US households than there are pay-TV set-top boxes. Across all households the mean number of connected TV devices per household is 2.1, while the mean number of pay-TV set-top boxes per household is 1.8.

Other findings include:

  • 83% of households with any type of connected TV device get a pay-TV service, similar to 81% with no connected TV devices
  • 38% of adults with a pay-TV service watch video via a connected TV device at least weekly, compared to 48% of pay-TV non-subscribers
  • 79% of all TV sets in US households are HDTVs, an increase from 34% of all TV sets in 2010, and 3% in 2004
  • 33% of non-4K Ultra HDTV owners have seen one in use, up from 10% in 2014
  • 25% of those who have seen a 4K HDTV in use are interested in getting one, compared to 9% of those who have not seen a 4K HDTV

Bruce Leichtman, President of Leichtman Research Group, says  “… there are actually more connected TV devices in US households than there are pay-TV set-top boxes… competition from Internet-delivered video via connected TVs… technological innovations in the pay-TV industry… allow consumers to choose more options for accessing and watching TV than ever before…"

For additional information from LRG, please visit here.

 

 

 

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