Over half of US homes now have TV connected to the internet

Over half of US homes with an internet connection now have at least one TV connected to the web, an increase of six million homes over the past year, according to NPD Group.

According to the research outfit’s Connected Home Entertainment Report, the average connected TV home had an average of 2.9 devices installed that they could use to view programming from apps on their TVs. Some 52% of internet homes now have at least one TV connected to the internet, according to NPD Group.

Video game consoles are the leading connected TV device, according to the group, followed by streaming media players, smart TVs and Blu-ray disc players.

The overall number of connected devices owned by Americans increased by 64 million last year to 734 million, representing an average of 7.8 connected devices per internet-connected home.

According to NPD Group, the growth in the overall universe of connected devices is being driven, at least in part, by increased adoption of internet-enabled TVs and streaming media players.

“Ownership of connected televisions and streaming media players is accelerating while the availability of streaming content is simultaneously expanding. These combined forces will continue to drive increased adoption of connected devices within U.S. households,” said John Buffone, executive director, connected intelligence.

“At the same time, as the number of households that have access to apps on TVs rises, so too do the business opportunities for content owners and distributors.”