• by Wayne Friedman , September 19, 2016

Viewing of next-generation 4KTV content will continue to climb in the next five years.

Estimates are that 10% of U.S. viewers will be watching 4K content in 2021 versus 0.02% of U.S. viewers (1 in 500) this year, according to U.K.-based Juniper Research.

Worldwide, the researcher says that 4KTV content -- which offers around four times more pixels than current HDTV -- it expected to grow to 189 million unique users in 2021 from 2.3 million this year.

Connected TV services will have the biggest share, with viewership also growing among smartphones, tablets and PCs. Currently, some of the main providers of 4KTV content include YouTube, Netflix and Amazon.

This year, the Consumer Technology Association expects that U.S. shipments of 4KTV sets will reach 15 million units in 2016 -- double that of the previous year -- with revenue at $12.9 billion, nearly 70% higher.

In Japan in 2020, next-generation TV quality is expected to get a big boost when hosting the Summer Olympics. Japan’s NHK will air the games in 8KTV. Juniper says shipments of 8KTV will grow threefold in 2020 and 2021.