NPD: Households Watching Family Fare, Premium Movies More Likely to Have Connected TVs

14 Aug, 2013 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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40% of connected homes have at least one TV hooked to the Web

Households that watch Nickelodeon, MTV, Disney Channel or Cartoon Network, or premium movie channels HBO, Showtime or Cinemax are 20% more likely to have their televisions connected to the Internet, according to new data from The NPD Group.

Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD found that family network viewers are 22% more likely to have a TV hooked up to the Internet, and premium movie channel subscribers are 19% more likely than the norm, according to survey of 5,000 respondents conducted during the second quarter.

Indeed, 40% of U.S. homes with an Internet connection have at least one TV that’s connected, either through the TV itself, a video game console, Blu-ray Disc player or streaming media player.

NPD conducted the survey to help networks determine how much of their viewing audience is connected, and if so, to what type of apps. The research firm found that family networks are in four of the top 10 spots and premium movie channels command three. These networks are able to capture more of their audience through over-the-top services on the TV.

Notably, the fact Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Teen Nick viewers rank most-likely to have an Internet-connected TV underscores in part why the network experienced a significant drop in ratings in 2012 as viewers opted for comparable fare on Netflix.

The report found that families are using video game consoles more than any other device to connect their TVs to the Internet. Programming from networks such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and ABC Family is obviously geared to households with children. These homes with children under age 18 are 63% more likely than the general Internet population to have a TV that is connected to the Internet through a video game console.

“Having a viewing audience that owns connected game consoles is a huge asset to a network’s digital distribution strategy,” said John Buffone, director of devices for NPD, in a statement.

NPD found that video game consoles are the most prominent devices delivering Internet to the TV. In fact, 29% of U.S. Internet homes currently have a game console connected to the Internet — a trend NPD projects will continue through 2015.

While networks are beginning to develop their own apps for the TV, the top video services used on the TV are still content-aggregation services Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Instant Prime Video. TV Everywhere services such as HBO Go still rank lower on the list.

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