Connected TVs in 74% of US broadband homes
January 27, 2017
According to research from The Diffusion Group (TDG), the penetration of Internet-connected TVs among US broadband households has increased nearly 50 per cent since 2013, from 50 per cent to 74 per cent at year-end 2016.
Connected TV penetration grew 22 per cent between 2013 and 2014, and another 15 per cent between 2014 and 2015. Of late, however, growth has slowed to only 4 per cent, a significant but not unexpected turn according to Michael Greeson, TDG President and Director of Research.
As TDG first noted in 2004, the diffusion of connected TVs would closely follow broadband uptake, and as broadband growth begins to slow, so too does the number of new connected TV users. TDG’s latest research validates this insight.
“At 74 per cent penetration, connected TV use is squarely in the Late Mainstream phase of its trajectory,” says Greeson. “Barring any major disruption in TV technology or market conditions, growth will slow each year as the solution reaches saturation.”
That said, pervasive access brings with it a wide range of opportunities, especially when it comes to video services. “Broadband pay-TV services are particularly well positioned to leverage this utility, which permits scale at much lower costs,” he suggested.