Report Forecasts Gains in Connected TV Market

LONDON, July 23: By the
end of this year, there will be 186 million connected TV devices in use around
the world, according to a new report, allowing users to access web content
directly on the television set.

“The web video explosion
has so far been restricted largely to PC users,” says David Mercer, VP and
principal analyst at Strategy Analytics. “Now it is moving to the TV screen.
While business model and content partner issues are still to be resolved, the floodgates
are open—web video is set to become a regular part of the TV viewing
experience.”

Ownership of web-connected
TV devices is set to rise to 507 million by 2010, soaring to 1.7 billion by
2014.

A wave of Internet-enabled
TV sets, gaming consoles and other devices have hit the market as of late. PS3,
PSP and Xbox users, for example, can download content to their gaming consoles
for TV viewing; AppleTV enables users to watch their favorite shows from iTunes
on a TV set; and Sony’s Bravia line of TV sets is incorporating web
connectivity. “Internet connectivity is becoming commonplace across a wide
spectrum of consumer devices,” said Peter King, the director of connected home
devices at the research firm. “By 2014 more than two-thirds of all products sold
will integrate Internet access.”

—By Mansha Daswani