NPD: 50% of U.S. Internet Homes Have Connected Televisions

26 Aug, 2015 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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In a burgeoning digital marketplace for entertainment, 50% of Internet-connected U.S. households owned a device capable of linking the television to the Web at the end of the second quarter, according to new from The NPD Group. The total number of homes that have a connected TV device topped 46 million, up 4 million homes from the previous-year period.

Connected devices including TVs, video game consoles, streaming media players and Blu-ray Disc players enable access to over-the-top video apps such as Netflix and Hulu Plus.

According to NPD, 45% of TVs sold in the U.S. during the quarter supported apps, up from 34% a year ago and 24% two years ago. As more app-ready TVs enter homes, the rate of consumers actually connecting these displays to the Internet also increased. In the quarter, 69% of all installed Internet-capable TVs were connected, up from 61% a year ago and 45% two years ago.

“The increase in the number of homes that use a TV with apps is the result of three very important factors,” John Buffone executive director of connected intelligence at NPD, said in a statement. “Sales of TVs with apps have skyrocketed, their user interfaces have improved and there has been a surge in available premium services and programming.”

Not surprisingly, Netflix was the most commonly used video service among connected homes, followed by YouTube, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus and HBO Go and HBO Now in the quarter. Indeed, NPD said the HBO Go and HBO Now OTT video platforms represent the first pay-TV network to reach the top five (OTT video) ranking, displacing Crackle.

“We’re living in the Golden Age of TV where significant investments are being made in developing original series. The collaboration between TV manufacturers and content providers is imperative to keeping the connected TV ecosystem growing, both through devices and content,” Buffone said.

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