Amid a sea of product choices from Google, Roku, Amazon and Apple alongside a surge in available OTT content, about 43% of U.S. Internet homes will own at least one streaming media player by the end of 2019, NPD Connected Intelligence predicted in its new Connected Home Forecast.
By that time, NPD expects there to be 238 million installed Internet-connected TV devices, representing a 59% rate of growth from 2015 to 2019.
NPD said connected TVs will drive 45% of the growth in the next four years, while less expensive, streaming media players will drive 35% of that growth.
“With an ever-increasing number of connectable devices expected to be connected to the Internet, viewers will have the ability to choose their preferred option instead of using the only device they have attached to their TV,” John Buffone, executive director, industry analyst at NPD Connected Intelligence, said in a statement. “This shift will inevitably result in diminished usage for some devices.”
This year and through 2019, NPD also expects streaming media devices to be found in more homes than any other connected TV devices, pointing to products from companies such as Google, Roku, Amazon and Apple. Likewise, NPD expects a consolidation and shakeout of operating systems to occur, as more TV makers opt to partner with the likes of Roku and Google and step away from managing their own app ecosystems.
NPD based its forecast and research on a consumer panel of more than 5,000 U.S. consumers, aged 18-plus.
