Connected TV penetration to reach 30% in 2020

The proportion of TV sets connected to the web will climb from just 4.5% at the end of 2010 to 29.9% by 2020, according to Digital TV Research.

The report, which covers 51 countries, claims that the number of TV sets connected to the internet will reach 876 million by 2020, up from an expected 415 million at the end of this year and 105 million at the end of 2010.

Digital TV Research predicts that in 2020, 206.6 million TV sets will be connected via streaming devices such as Chromecast and Apple TV, up from an expected 58.3 million by the end of this year, with principal analyst Simon Murray commenting that these devices have “made more of a splash than previously expected.”

Smart TV sets will account for 36% of the 2020 total of connected televisions at 319.5 million, while the number of sets connected via games consoles will rise to 169 million by 2020, according to the research.

An anticipated 69.5 million TVs will be connected via Blu-ray players and 111.8 million by pay TV set-top boxes in 2020.

“There were only 31 million connected smart TV sets by end-2010, but this total will quintuple to 150 million by end-2015. As a proportion of total TV sets, this percentage will climb from 1.3% in 2010 to 5.6% in 2015 and onto 10.9% by 2020,” said the report.

By 2020, South Korea will have the highest proportion of connected TV sets at 55%. In real terms, the US will lead the market with 184 million connected TV sets by 2020, followed by China with 144 million in 2020.