Survey: Super Bowl Tops Black Friday as Best Time to Buy TV
25 Jan, 2016 By: Erik Gruenwedel
Nearly 50% of consumers will purchase their first 4K UHD TV
With the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos set to meet Feb. 7 in Super Bowl 50, new from FatWallet.com suggests buying a new TV prior to the big game tops purchasing on Black Friday.
In a survey of 1,000 adults conducted this month, 25% of respondents cited the Super Bowl as the best time to buy a TV, compared with 18% who said on Black Friday; 7% before Christmas and 4% on Cyber Monday. Overall, 46% of respondents said they would buy a TV during other times of the year.
The NPD Group has found that big-screen TV unit prices drop upwards of 10% during the week before the Super Bowl. That said, 55% of FatWallet respondents said they would spend $500 or more on a TV, including 27% who said they would spend $700 or more. Indeed, 46% cited price as the top motivating factor, followed by features (36%) and brand (18%).
Among coveted features, 46% of respondents said they would purchase their first 4K Ultra HD TV, with 43% opting for mid-sized screens (40-inch to 54-inch); 36% for bigger screens (55-inch to 69-inch) and 5% who want screens above 70 inches.
While price, screen size and resolution are driving new TV sales, three-in-10 respondents said they stream the majority of their TV programming — a percentage that more than doubles (70%) among consumers under the age of 30.
Indeed, a separate found that apps for standalone streaming services are more popular than apps for TV Everywhere platforms. Research engine Shodan found that the HBO Now app is the fourth-most-installed app on Roku behind Leader Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu Plus. Other over-the-top video services included Showtime Instant (7th), Walmart’s Vudu.com, YouTube (10th); Crackle.com; Popcornflix.com; SlingTV and Blockbuster On Demand.
Among TV Everywhere apps that give pay-TV subscribers on-demand access to content on connected devices, HBO Go ranked 17th, followed by the History app; PBS Video; Fox News Channel (22nd); Fox Now; Facebook; AETV; and WatchESPN, among others.