What Display Daily thinks: This kind of research is great news for webOS, Teizen, Roku, and Amazon. Maybe it is great news for every other TV brand, too, if they have a home screen that can turn the couch potato paradigm into an interface potato.
The TV viewing experience is growing into one that is very much aligned with the way people experience apps on their phone. We get used to flicking through what we know and we don’t really want to change. Doesn’t matter what anyone else may think. My brother thinks I am sheep for using a Mac and having an iPhone. I couldn’t be bothered to figure out how his Samsung flip phone worked because I didn’t have any comfort with the interface.
We have better things to do.
That dynamic changes the opportunity here, and it certainly means that TV manufacturers should be looking at expanding the broad use of TVs at home. Adding unobtrusive webcams, presence aware technology as standard, and if music is what half the people are streaming on their TV then figuring out how to deliver an audio advantage should be tantamount.
The research also suggests that Roku and Amazon may have an opportunity here because they don’t need to compete in the premium market and can focus on leveraging their software to gain traction with their own branded smart TV offerings. In fact, it opens up the possibility for unique branding propositions for all vendors.
That changes the economics of the display itself because it is becomes less about the pure viewing experience, and more about the total user experience. If there is any reason to doubt that premium TV sales are going to get squeezed in the future then this is it.
So, maybe the frame TV is the future of premium displays in this market, and the rest of the industry’s efforts should go into locking down user loyalty through software and services. There is a suggestion here that the technology investment in TV panels will shift towards doing more with what you have then looking for a leap in pixel power.
Smart TV Owners Use Their TVs Home Screen as Jumping Off Point
According to Hub Research, smart TV ownership has increased significantly, reaching nearly 80% of households in early 2024. This rise is largely due to the integration of streaming platforms directly into smart TVs, making them a more attractive option than external streaming devices. The data indicates that 62% of TV households now stream content weekly on smart TVs, reflecting a shift from traditional cable or satellite connections to internet-based viewing.
Cord-cutting continues unabated with traditional pay-TV services experiencing a decline, the share of primary TVs connected to cable, telecom, or satellite services dropping from 52% in 2020 to 38% in 2024.
The results should also make the likes of Samsung and LG happy because smart TV operating systems and interfaces are becoming key factors in how consumers discover and access content. Many users now see app home screens rather than traditional TV channels when they turn on their TVs, giving more influence to operating systems in content discovery. Built-in universal search functions and app installations on smart TVs are directly impacting what consumers watch, according to the research.
The other really interesting finding is that 79% of consumers expressed a desire to buy new TVs with the same operating system as their existing ones.
External streaming media players like Roku and Amazon Fire TV are stil popular, with 46% of internet households owning at least one, but smart TVs have a more substantial presence, being in 68% of households. Smart TVs are more frequently the primary device for video consumption, suggesting a preference for all-in-one solutions that offer integrated streaming capabilities.
