• Research: Smart TVs and Connected TVs in 60% of U.S. Homes

    According to new research released today from YuMe and Nielsen, 60% of U.S. homes now have either a smart TV or a connected TV device, with 74% of these owners, or approximately 44% of U.S. homes, using them on a daily basis. Of the 2,410 research participants, 1,465 had a TV connected to the Internet, with 884, or 60% of them using a connected TV device like Roku, Fire TV, etc. and 581 (40%) using a smart TV.

    The research also found that smart TV ownership has nearly doubled since 2013. No surprise, the research found that movies and TV shows are the preferred content for large screen TVs, while short-form video is most popular on computers and mobile devices.

    It’s worth noting that last Friday, FX released its latest research on “Peak TV,” finding that in 2017, a whopping 487 scripted originals aired across broadcast, cable and SVOD, up from 455 in 2016 and just 182 back in 2002. Online providers accounted for 117, or nearly a quarter of the total, reflecting the billions of dollars big players like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have invested in content to drive subscriber growth.

    These investments, along with the prevalence of other video apps, have helped drive interest in smart TV and connected TV ownership (not to mention the acceleration of cord-cutting). In a sense, it’s been a perfect storm for these devices, because absent the SVOD players’ investments, there would have been far less incentive for consumers to purchase. And conversely, as more devices have been deployed, viewership and therefore ROI of SVOD content has skyrocketed.

    As CES kicks off today, this symbiosis between content and devices is a crucial dynamic to keep in mind. No matter how clever a device is, without content, its value is  minor. The notion of a “new living room” (as FreeWheel calls it) is taking hold in millions of homes today and in the process putting the squeeze on pay-TV, the traditional method for accessing high-quality video on the big screen.

    There is no doubt this model will further accelerate in 2018, as the 3 big SVOD providers alone have publicly said they’ll spend a combined $15 billion on content. This will occur while prices of smart TVs and connected TVs continue to fall even as they become more feature rich. Consumers will be the main beneficiaries.

    An infographic of the YuMe-Nielsen research can be accessed here.