CEA: Internet-TV Delivery to Surpass Over-the-Air

ARLINGTON: For the first time ever, the percentage of U.S. households relying only on the Internet for TV programming is about to beat out the percentage of those that rely exclusively on an antenna, according to a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

The report, The Market for U.S. Household Television Services, finds that 6 percent of U.S. households with a television exclusively use an antenna to receive TV programming; 5 percent of households currently rely only on the Internet—and that figure is rising.

The percentage of U.S. TV households consuming at least some TV programming via the Internet has nearly doubled. Almost half of U.S. TV homes (45 percent) received some television programming from the Internet in the last year, which is up 17 percent from the previous year.

CEA also finds that despite the growth in tablet and smartphone penetration rates, TVs are still the most widely used viewing device. Televisions have the highest household penetration of any viewing device (97 percent) and strongest video content viewership (93 percent). Viewership of video programming on connected devices does continue to grow. Nearly half of TV user households have watched video on either a portable computer or smartphone in the last year; more than a third watched on either a tablet or desktop computer.

“We are at a pivotal point in consumer behavior, as fewer and fewer American homes are now using only antennas to watch their favorite television programs, and more and more households turn to the Internet as a source of TV content,” said Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of the CEA. “In 1986, more than half of American homes with a TV relied solely on free, over-the-air broadcasting. But our study reveals that just six percent of U.S. TV households now watch TV programming exclusively through an over-the-air signal. This continues a nine-year, downward trend that shows antenna-only viewership remains at all-time lows and an upward trend of consumers watching video programming when and where they choose.”

“The television remains the most commonly owned video viewing device and our primary means of watching video content,” said Brian Markwalter, the senior VP of research and standards at CEA. “But significantly more households that use televisions to watch TV programming are now also turning to alternative video devices at home. The explosive growth of Internet programming means consumers now have better options to watch video content on different types of screens they may own.”

“In the next year, we expect the number of U.S. households relying exclusively on the Internet for TV programming to equal or surpass the total of those relying only on antennas,” added Shapiro. “As consumers continue to turn to other devices and services for TV programming—devices that need wireless spectrum to deliver the content we want anytime, anywhere—it’s clear that the free, public spectrum given to broadcasters could be put to much better use.”