Web-connected TV figures top 60%

LG Smart TV

Some 63% of broadband households in the US have at least one TV set that is connected to the internet, according to new research by The Diffusion Group (TDG). 

The research firm claims that the January 2014 figure compares to a web-connected TV penetration rate of 53% at the beginning of 2013, and includes smart TVs and sets that are connected via devices such as games consoles or streaming dongles.

“Though broadband diffusion may be slowing as the market matures, the expansion of broadband-connected TVs continues at rapid clip, up 19% in the last year,” said TDG president and director of research Michael Greeson.

Among homes that do have a web-connected TV, some 42% said they have two or more sets configured this way, meaning a large portion of users own multiple net-connected TVs.

“Whether net-to-TV video will somehow topple traditional pay-TV service models has been a red herring from the beginning. The real debate is the extent to which the growing availability and expanding use of ‘OTT TV’ services will have on the time viewers spend watching traditional pay-TV given the growing array of sources at their disposal,” said Greeson.

“While not a simple a zero-sum game, we are nearing or at that breaking point where the growing use of broadband-based sources simply chips away at time once spent using traditional sources. This is hardly a radical argument, and made all the more inevitable given these new findings.”