The Number of Smart TVs and Streaming Subscriptions Continues to Grow

New Parks Associates research shows 63% of US internet households own a smart TV, up from 38% in 2015. The OTT Video Market Tracker, including monthly reports and a quarterly release of estimated video subscriber numbers, highlights how companies like Roku and others have transformed the role of the TV in the home by marrying entertainment with connected home functions. Roku announced at CES 2023 it would manufacture its own line of smart TVs this year, and many companies showed off new TV technologies.

“Smart TVs are part of the modern home; this device will be a key element of an integrated whole-home entertainment vision going forward,“ said Elizabeth Parks, President of Parks Associates. “New applications and integration are bringing together the smart home and entertainment ecosystems to further monetize its user base and have more control of the data in the home.“

The research shows 87% of US internet households have at least one streaming service. At CES, many companies announced new smart TVs and seek to leverage the operating system (OS) as much as the hardware for future applications. TV manufacturers and tech giants, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung, are building smart home controls into the TV, transforming this device into a home control platform.

When consumers are considering a smart TV purchase, they value interoperability, compatibility, and ease of use within an ecosystem more than they value single-point functionality. Connected device owners now have an average of 16 connected devices in the home, and the desire for a single access control point is at the top of their wants.