Research: Smart TVs half of OTT TV viewing
April 5, 2023
Research from Aluma Insights finds adult SVoD viewers spend half their streaming TV time watching apps on smart TVs, up from 31 per cent in 2015. This is 2.5 times the contribution of streaming media players, which is down from 27 per cent in 2015 to 21 per cent currently.
In the early days of connected TV, consumers used a variety of bridge devices to connect high-speed Internet services to home televisions., including digital media adapters, game consoles, and Blu-ray players, among others. Over time, TV OEMs incorporated this same ‘smart’ functionality into mainstream televisions. As costs came down, smart TV penetration increased.
Currently, 64 per cent of broadband households have a smart TV in their living room, nearly all of which are connected directly to the Internet. More interesting is the fact 39 per cent have a smart TV in their primary bedroom, 22 per cent in a second bedroom.
“This is an example of a well-worn migratory pattern,” said Michael Greeson, founder of Aluma Insights. “The newest, most feature-laden television goes to the living room and the set it replaces moves to the primary bedroom, then to the second bedroom, and so on. As this happens, the use of bridge devices to watch streaming video in all rooms of the home is further diminished.”
One of the most surprising findings of Aluma’s latest SVoD research is that mobile devices and PCs account for 9 per cent of streaming TV viewing, exceeding that of game consoles (6 per cent, down from 26 per cent of in 2015). Notably, this matches OTT viewing on pay-TV set-top boxes.
Age plays a large role in how SVoD users partition their TV streaming:
- Smart TVs account for 53 per cent of TV streaming among adults 45+, but only 39 per cent among 18-24s.
- Game console’s contribution to TV streaming is greatest among 18-34s (15 per cent), least so among 65+ (1 per cent).
- Pay-TV set-top box’s part is greatest among SVoD users 65+ (15 per cent), least so among 18-35s (3 per cent).
- PC and mobile TV connections account for 17 per cent of TV streaming among 18-24s, least so among 45+ (6 per cent).