CTV device ownership at a high in the US

Over three quarters of US households now own at least one internet-connected TV device, a new report has found.

According to Leichtman Research Group, 82% of US TV households have at least one Internet-connected TV device, compared to 80% in 2020, 74% in 2019, 65% in 2016, and 30% in 2011. Products considered CTV devices include smart TVs, stand-alone streaming devices like an Amazon Fire TV stick, internet-connected games consoles, and connected Blu-ray players. 

But while CTV device ownership is up, viewership is slightly down from the stay-at-home 2020. Some 39% of adults in US TV households watch video on a TV via a connected device daily.  This is compared to 40% in 2020, 31% in 2019, 19% in 2016, and 3% in 2011.

Unsurprisingly, it is young people driving CTV adoption, with 54% of Americans aged 18-34 watching video on a CTV device daily, compared to 43% of 35-54 year-olds and 22% of people aged over 55. 

The report also found that 35% of adults with a pay-TV service watch video via a connected TV device daily – compared to 50% of pay-TV non-subscribers; and that 55% of TV households have at least one stand-alone streaming device – up from 49% in 2019, 33% in 2016, and 3% in 2011.

Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, said: “Use of connected TV devices levelled off over the past year after being pulled forward due to the coronavirus pandemic last year. Still, 39% of adults watch video on a TV via a connected device daily, and 60% at least weekly. Over 80% of TV households in the US now have at least one connected TV device, with a mean of 4.1 devices per connected TV household.”