Web-connected TVs now in 65% of US homes

Some 65% of US TV households now have at least one TV set connected to the internet, up from 44% in 2013 and 24% in 2010, according to Leichtman Research Group.

The 65% figure relates to smart TVs or those linked to the web via a games console, a Blu-ray player, or a stand-alone streaming device like a Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, or Amazon Fire TV.

Roughly 74% of those with connected TV devices have more than one device, with an average of 3.3 devices per connected TV homes, said the research.

“Connected TV devices are now in nearly two-thirds of all TV households in the US, and there are actually more connected TV devices in US households than there are pay TV set-top boxes,” according to Leichtman Research Group’s president and principal analyst, Bruce Leichtman.

The research found that across all US households the mean number of connected TV devices per home was 2.1, while the mean number of pay TV set-top boxes was 1.8 per home.

“New forms of competition from internet-delivered video via connected TVs, along with technological innovations in the pay TV industry, are allowing consumers to choose more options for accessing and watching TV than they have ever had before,” said Leichtman.

Other findings of the research include: 83% of households with any type of connected TV device get a pay TV service; 38% of adults with a pay TV service watch video via a connected TV device at least weekly; and 79% of all TV sets in US households are HDTV.