The number of homes using the internet to watch television shows and
movies on the TV screen has reached more than 42 million across the US and
Europe, according to Strategy Analytics.
The report Multiscreen Connected TV: Assessing Device Usage and
Ownership bases its findings on a survey of 4800 respondents.
The connected TV usage is twice as popular in the US as in Europe. 20
per cent of US respondents have watched internet content on their TV screens in
the past month, compared to only 10 per cent of Europeans. The report concludes
that this difference reflects the relative strength of digital services such as
Netflix and Hulu in the US market.
The research also investigates the ways in which consumers are
connecting their TVs to the internet. In the US, the most popular option is the
games console, but Europeans prefer to connect a PC to the TV using an HDMI
cable. Streaming over a home network and internet-connected Blu-ray disc
players are also significant in both territories.
Apart from the TV screen, the PC is still the most important device.
Personal devices such as tablets and smartphones are less popular, although
tablets are likely to become more important as the market continues to grow
rapidly.
“These findings have important implications for content providers,
device manufacturers and network operators,” said David Mercer, principal
analyst and the report’s author.
“They demonstrate that television viewers are prepared to go to
significant lengths to watch their preferred television shows or movies on the
big screen. In spite of the technical challenges, many people want to be freed
from the constraints of traditional, managed television services if their
choice of content is not available when they want, where they want, and at a
price they are willing to pay,” Mercer added.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
