Analysis: US viewing behaviour unchanged by CTVs
June 9, 2022
Approximately three-quarters of US Internet households own at least one smart TV, according to the Kagan first-quarter 2022 US Consumer Insights survey. However, the ability to access online digital entertainment directly from a smart TV has had virtually no effect on consumer TV viewing behaviour, according to the survey data.
A comparison between smart TV and non-smart TV households reveals that both groups watch an average of over four hours of TV programming per day. Among households without a smart TV, 60 per cent reported watching primarily or mostly live, linear TV compared to 52 per cent for adults owning a smart TV. But owning a smart TV does not appear to promote substantially more online video viewing. One-third of adults who own a smart TV (33 per cent) and those that do not (31 per cent) cite watching mostly or primarily VoD content. The survey data also shows that subscription video on demand represents 45 per cent of daily video viewing among smart TV owners; essentially the same as those without a smart TV (42 per cent).
The use of streaming media devices, such as Roku and Amazon Fire, in association with smart TVs appears to be extensive. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of US households that only own smart TVs report using streaming media players, as well. One possible explanation is that the majority (63 per cent) of households operating multiple smart TVs own smart TVs of different brands. Streaming media devices offer an inexpensive means of providing a standardised user interface for accessing online content across any brand of smart TV.
Historical survey data illustrates the rise in smart TV ownership in the US, expanding 8 percentage points over the past two years to 74 per cent. Approximately nine out of 10 (88 per cent) of those owning a smart TV reported accessing online digital entertainment from the device over the past month. The survey data also shows that the average number of TVs per Internet household in the US dipped slightly from 2.8 TVs per household in 2021 to 2.5 TVs in 2022, a result of declining ownership of traditional HDTVs, or non-smart TVs, and older standard-definition TVs.
As of early 2022, US Internet households own an average of 1.2 smart TVs, according to the survey data. Nearly half (45 per cent) of Internet households own one smart TV, and another 29 per cent own multiple smart TVs. Among surveyed Internet adults owning a smart TV, 41 per cent reported owning at least one Samsung Electronics smart TV. Vizio and LG Electronics were distant competitors, with 19 per cent and 18 per cent of US smart TV households owning these brands, respectively. TCL Technology Group and Sony Group top the long tail of smart TV competitors with ownership shares of 11 per cent or less.