Report: 100 Million Smart TVs In Use Globally

BOSTON: There are now more than 100 million smart TVs installed in homes worldwide, according to Strategy Analytics, with China expected to overtake the U.S. as the largest smart-TV market this year.

At the end of 2012, there were 104 million reported smart TVs installed. This is according to new research from Strategy Analytics’ Connected Home Devices service, “Global Smart TV Sales Forecast for 88 Countries: 2007 to 2017.”

The report finds that in 2012, Japan had a smart-TV installation base of 21.1 million units. The U.S. had 15.8 million units, followed by China with 13.8 million units. Annual smart-TV sales in China are expected to exceed those of the U.S. this year and will grow to more than twice the size of the U.S. market in 2017.

Jia Wu, the director of connected home devices at Strategy Analytics, said, “Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic will continue to compete in the U.S. and European Smart TV market with products based on their own platforms or third-party platforms such as Google TV. Chinese TV manufacturers like Hisense, TCL and Skyworth are embracing Android, which already offers a plethora of apps and content. The wide adoption of Android in Smart TVs in China will drive sales as consumers get access to a great variety of content.”

David Mercer, VP and principal analyst at the company, added, “Smart TVs help manufacturers drive near-term sales growth but they are also a longer term strategic play. Major vendors like Samsung and Sony believe they can establish smart TV-based content and service platforms to support new revenue streams but we won’t know whether this strategy is successful for several more years.”