Penetration for Connected TVs to Hit 30 Percent by 2020

LONDON: The number of TV sets connected to the internet is poised to hit 876 million by 2020, according to a new Digital TV Research report.

In 2010, that figure was 105 million and is expected to climb to 415 million at end-2015.

For the 51 countries measured in the Connected TV Forecasts report, the proportion of internet-connected TV sets will surge to 29.9 percent by 2020, up from only 4.5 percent at end-2010 and 15.5 percent expected by the end of this year. By 2020, South Korea will have the highest proportion (55 percent), while India will have the lowest (11.4 percent).

The U.S. is expected to supply 184 million connected sets by 2020, up from 112 million in 2014. Second-place China in 2020 will supply 114 million, up from the 21 million reported in 2014.

From the 538 million additional TV sets connected to the internet between 2014 and 2020, China will supply a whopping 123 million, followed by the U.S. (72 million), India (29 million), Brazil (30 million) and Japan (26 million). The Asia Pacific will become the largest region in 2017.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “The connected TV sector has shifted considerably since our last edition a year ago. This includes fundamentals such as a revision downwards of TV set growth due mainly to greater competition from mobile devices.

“Furthermore, the gulf between rich and poor nations is not going to be breached as rapidly as we previously thought. Therefore, connected TV set forecasts for most developing countries, especially China and India, are a lot lower.”

Murray continued: “Retail OTT devices such as Chromecast and Apple TV have made more of a splash than previously expected.”