Of all the TVs in U.S. households, 32% are now connected smart TVs, according to the latest Leichtman Research report, “Connected and 4K TVs 2019.”
For companies like Amazon and Roku, that figure highlights the urgency of signing deals with Asian TV manufacturers and getting “pole position” on the smart TV user interface.
In 2017, smart TVs accounted for just 24% of all TVs in U.S. homes; the figure was only 7% in 2014, Leichtman said.
Making the proposition less compelling: At this point only 14% of U.S. adults are watching video daily on a smart TV.
Overall, 74% of U.S. households have at least one internet-connected TV device, such as a smart TV, or an OTT player such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV. This was up from 69% in 2017 and 50% in 2014.
According to the research company’s survey of 1,150 U.S TV homes, 31% of U.S. adults watch video on a connected TV daily. Among pay TV subscribers, that figure is only 25%. It’s 49% for cord cutters.
Other Leichtman findings:
> 49% of U.S. TV homes have at least one stand-along streaming device, up from 40% in 2017.
> 22% of U.S. TV homes with annual incomes north of $50,000 have a 4K TV vs. 9% of households with income under $50K.
> 34% of U.S. households that received a TV within the last year have $4K HDTV.
“About three-quarters of all TV households in the U.S. now have at least one connected TV device, with a mean of 3.9 devices per connected TV household,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “Over half of all adults watch video via a connected TV device at least weekly, an increase from one-quarter of adults five years ago, and nearly one-third of adults now use these devices daily."
