The NPD Group released its own predictions for connected TV devices this week, forecasting that 231 million such devices will be connected to the internet by the end of 2018. This represents 82% growth from 2014 to 2018.
The increased acceptance of connected TVs in US homes, as well as the continued adoption of streaming media players, will be the largest growth drivers, responsible for 37% and 33% of growth, respectively.
Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu and HBO Go are the most popular streaming video services used on connected TVs and attached devices. However, subscription-free streaming services from TV networks are also becoming more popular.
As of July, 5% of US internet homes subscribed to at least one of the top five streaming services – rising to 7% among homes with a connected TV or attached content device.
Analyst Comment
Concurrently with Parks’ announcement, a firm called Slice Intelligence has said that Apple has the largest share of the streaming media player market (this excludes products like connected consoles and TVs), with a 31% share, followed by Amazon at 28%.
Most (58%) of Apple TV purchasers had not bought a new TV streaming device in the last two years. Others had upgraded from previous versions of the Apple TV (20%), Fire TV (12%), Chromecast (6%), or Roku (5%). (TA)
