123 Million Connected TVs by 2014
A new study says that two groups will drive an increase in sales over the next few years.
April 25, 2011 | by Rachel Cericola
Apparently, you aren’t the only one that’s addicted to streaming Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and other web-based TV services.
According to a new study by DisplaySearch, we can expect more than 123 million connected TV products to ship in 2014. However, it’s not just the added services that are spurring that jump. The research firm says that it has to do with growth in other parts of the world.
“The connected TV market is developing beyond mature regions like Western Europe and Japan,” said Paul Gray, director of TV Electronics. “With some emerging countries having excellent broadband infrastructure, the adoption of connected TV capabilities is a natural next step in TV feature innovation.”
Consumers in Japan, Latin America and China were the ones buying up most of the connected TVs in 2010. North America lagged in sales last year, but should see a nice increase by 2014. (See chart below.)
Another interesting tidbit that came out of their findings is that 20 percent of all TVs shipped in 2010 also had web capabilities.
DisplaySearch defines a smart TV as a TV that can retrieve content from the Internet without the restrictions of a portal, has intelligent search and recommendations, is upgradeable by its owner, and is able to network seamlessly with other devices in the home. The report says that the connected TV market will include two groups: Those wanting video-on-demand services such as Netflix and VUDU, and the ones looking for apps and web navigation.
Gray added, “Smart TVs are adding to what is already a fast-moving and fiercely competitive battleground, with competition appearing in all directions, including mobile PC devices such as tablets and increasingly powerful set top boxes with services accessible anytime, anywhere.”
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