More Connected TVs, Streaming Devices in U.S. Homes Than Cable Boxes

DURHAM: Leichtman Research Group reports that internet-connected TV devices now represent greater numbers than pay-TV set-top boxes in the U.S.

According to new findings, 65 percent of U.S. TV households have at least one television set connected to the internet via a video game system, a smart TV set, a Blu-ray player and/or a stand-alone device (like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV). This is up from 44 percent in 2013 and 24 percent in 2010. Among those with any connected TV devices, 74 percent have more than one device, with a mean of 3.3 per connected TV household. The study also found that 77 percent of TV sets in pay-TV households have a pay-TV provider’s set-top box, with a mean of 2.2 boxes per pay-TV household

Overall, there are more connected TV devices in U.S. households than there are pay-TV set-top boxes. Across all households (including those that do not have any of these), the mean number of connected TV devices per household is 2.1, while the mean number of pay-TV set-top boxes per household is 1.8.

“Connected TV devices are now in nearly two-thirds of all TV households in the U.S., and there are actually more connected TV devices in U.S. households than there are pay-TV set-top boxes,” said Bruce Leichtman, the president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “New forms of competition from internet-delivered video via connected TVs, along with technological innovations in the pay-TV industry, are allowing consumers to choose more options for accessing and watching TV than they have ever had before.”