Connected TV use has nearly doubled in the last year for the 18- to 49-year-old demo, according to a
new report from Pivotal Researchreleased this week. The firm
found that 8.5% of all TV usage in July was routed through connected TVs, such as via Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast. That’s a big jump from the 4.9% usage rate from the year-ago period, and the
1.9% Pivotal reported in July 2014.
Other researchers have chronicled the rapid rise in connected TV use, too. In the spring, Leichtman Research Group reported that 65% of U.S. TV homes have at least one set connected to the Internet, up from 44% in 2013 and
24% in 2010.
Interestingly, of those homes with connected TVs, about three-quarters had more than one connected device, suggesting that use of this technology tends to run deep once it’s
in place. Leichtman identifies a connected TV as a video game system, a smart TV set, a Blu-ray player, or a device like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, or Amazon Fire TV.
Further evidence of the
rise in this “consumer-is-in-charge” style of entertainment consumption comes from new data on subscription video on demand revenue. This figure hit $1.5 billon in the United States in the
second quarter, up from $1.25 billion a year ago, representing a 21% increase, according to
Digital Entertainment Group’s 2Q Home Entertainment Report.
VOD and electronic sell-through also jumped year over year and quarter over quarter, as did the spend on Ultra HD TVs.
All signs so far point to a continued robust appetite for content.