• by Wayne Friedman , August 15, 2023

Non-traditional TV usage of smart TV continues to evolve, with consumers using their modern TV sets for other media functions, says Hub Entertainment Research.

One of the biggest uses comes with streaming of music and audience service -- which 49% of respondents now say they use smart TV sets for. This is up from 27% three years ago.

The second-biggest non-TV use, at 38%, is mirroring or casting another screen from a mobile or computer device -- for example, onto a smart TV. This is up from 14% in 2020.

Use of a web browser on a smart TV comes in at 28%, while using a news/weather/traffic app from a non-video TV app, at 24%; social media use is at 18%; and viewing digital photos,15%.

Overall, 77% of respondents have made use of one of seven non-TV features. Ninety percent of younger smart TV users 16 to 34 years old have used a non-TV feature; 55% for users ages 55-74.

Hub suggests that smart TVs will grow as a central hub for  home technology, that it will evolve just as mobile phone use features have expanded.