82% rise in installed connected-TV devices by 2018
November 9, 2015
By the end of 2018, 231 million installed devices are expected to be connected to the Internet and able to deliver apps to TVs, representing 82 per cent growth from 2014 to 2018, according to the Connected Home Entertainment Forecast report from global information company The NPD Group.
“The two largest drivers of growth will be the increased acceptance of connected televisions in the homes of US consumers, as well as the continued adoption of streaming media players such as those offered by Google, Apple, Roku, and Amazon,” said John Buffone, Executive Director, Industry Analyst, Connected Intelligence, The NPD Group.
Connected TVs, inclusive of Internet-capable 4K TVs, are projected to drive 37 per cent of the growth during the four-year period, and streaming media players are projected to drive 33 per cent of the growth during that same time period.
Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu, and HBO GO remain the top five streaming video services used on connected TVs and attached content devices. But, a new video distribution channel is surfacing through the proliferation of streaming services from television networks that no longer require viewers to subscribe to a pay-TV channel bundle. As of July 2015, 5 per cent of US Internet homes subscribed to at least one of these over-the-top streaming content services, and that rate rises to 7 per cent of homes with a connected TV or attached content device. Current over-the-top programming includes HBO NOW, Showtime, CBS All Access, WWE Network, Sesame Street Go, Noggin, Lifetime Movie Club, and Shudder.
“Direct streaming subscriptions to network programming allows broadband providers an opportunity to generate revenue from services above and beyond their broadband offerings, while also further increasing the utility of connected TVs,” added Buffone. “As anticipated, we are already seeing uptake of these services by millennials at levels two times the norm. And, this trend is expected to continue as more networks make unauthenticated apps available to viewers.”