Most US homes stream content through games consoles
September 24, 2014
Parks Associates research shows that 46 per cent of US broadband households have a game console connected to the Internet and over one-quarter (28 per cent) use the connected gaming console as their primary connected CE device. Among these primary console users, roughly three-quarters use the gaming console to access non-gaming content online at least weekly, and nearly 40 per cent access such content for more than 10 hours per week.
“Gaming consoles are the most frequently used connected CE device because of their high adoption rates-of the broadband households that have only one connected CE device, nearly 60 per cent have a game console,” said Barbara Kraus, Director of Research, Parks Associates. “As the non-gaming capabilities of consoles have expanded, so too has the potential for consoles to become an entertainment platform for online content such as video, music, and apps.”
Two-thirds of US broadband households currently have at least one connected CE device. Smart TVs trail gaming consoles as the second most commonly used connected CE device. Twelve per cent of US broadband households with an Internet-connected CE use a streaming media player most frequently, and only 9 per cent use a connected Blu-ray player most frequently, according to Parks Associates’ Q1 2014 survey of 10,000 US broadband households.
“Smart TVs are popular, but households typically make these purchases when they need to upgrade their flat-panel TVs, which will spread out adoption to coincide with the TV replacement cycle,” Kraus said. “Blu-ray players are performing poorly as a connected CE platform, whereas many gaming consoles have already staked a claim in the living room, which helps to drive non-gaming uses for the platform.”
Kraus added that households with multiple connected CE devices are less likely to use the console as their primary connected CE device.
“The ability to play console-quality games remains the core adoption driver,” Kraus said. “However, our research shows that younger console owners and those with children in the home are heavier users of online, non-gaming content. While 62 per cent of all broadband households have a gaming console, more than 80 per cent of households with children in the home have the device.”