Connected TV households now comprise 65% of TV households, according to new research from LRG (Leichtman Research Group). By LRG’s definition, a connected TV household is one with a smart TV or with at least one TV connected to the Internet via a video game system, Blu-ray player or a stand-alone device from a vendor such as Amazon, Apple, Google or Roku.
More than one connected TV device is present in a large majority of connected TV households (74%), with a mean of 3.3 per connected TV household, LRG highlights in a press release.
LRG found that there are more connected TV devices than pay-TV set-top boxes in all U.S. households. A mean of 2.1 connected TV devices are present in U.S. households overall as compared to 1.8 pay-TV set-top boxes, according to LRG’s ¨HD and Connected TVs XIII¨ report.
Connected TVs and Customer Satisfaction
“Connected TV devices are now in nearly two-thirds of all TV households in the US, and there are actually more connected TV devices in US households than there are pay-TV set-top boxes,” commented LRG president and principal analyst Bruce Leichtman. “New forms of competition from Internet-delivered video via connected TVs, along with technological innovations in the pay-TV industry, are allowing consumers to choose more options for accessing and watching TV than they have ever had before.” (post continues below)
Feedback from survey participants revealed they find connected TV devices easy to use: on a scale of 1-10, 7 in 10 with a connected TV agreed that accessing streaming services such as Netflix via connected TV devices is easy. Just 12% disagreed.
LRG found that pay-TV set-top boxes are present in nearly 8 in 10 connected TV households (77%), with a mean of 2.2 boxes per pay-TV household. In addition, subscribers are generally satisfied with them:
- 20% with a pay-TV HD set-top box agree (8-10) that set-top boxes from TV companies are a waste of money, while 44% disagree (1-3)
- 42% with a pay-TV HD set-top box agree (8-10) that set-top boxes from TV companies provide features that add value to the TV service, while 16% disagree (1-3)
- 68% with 3 or more set-top boxes are very satisfied (8-10) with their pay-TV provider — compared to 54% with 1-2 set-top boxes
Other key report takeaways include:
- 83% of households with any type of connected TV device get a pay-TV service — similar to 81% with no connected TV devices
- 38% of adults with a pay-TV service watch video via a connected TV device at least weekly — compared to 48% of pay-TV non-subscribers
- 79% of all TV sets in US households are HDTVs — an increase from 34% of all TV sets in 2010, and 3% in 2004
- 33% of non-4K Ultra HDTV owners have seen one in use — up from 10% in 2014
- 25% of those who have seen a 4K HDTV in use are interested in getting one — compared to 9% of those who have not seen a 4K HDTV
