Smart TVs Account for Half of All OTT TV Viewing

Game console’s contribution declines from 26% in 2015 to 6% today

New research from Aluma Insights finds adult SVOD viewers spend half their streaming TV time watching apps on smart TVs, up from 31% in 2015. This is 2.5 times the contribution of streaming media players, which is down from 27% in 2015 to 21% today.

In the early days of connected TV, consumers used a variety of bridge devices to connect high-speed internet services to home televisions., including digital media adapters, game consoles, and Blu-ray players, among others. Over time, TV OEMs incorporated this same “smart” functionality into mainstream televisions. As costs came down, smart TV penetration increased.

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“As smart TVs move beyond the living room, the use of ancillary streaming devices declines.”

— Michael Greeson

Today, 64% of broadband households have a smart TV in their living room, nearly all of which are connected directly to the internet. More interesting is the fact 39% have a smart TV in their primary bedroom, 22% in a second bedroom.

“This is an example of a well-worn migratory pattern,” said Michael Greeson, veteran researcher and founder of Aluma Insights. “The newest, most feature-laden television goes to the living room and the set it replaces moves to the primary bedroom, then to the second bedroom, and so on. As this happens, the use of bridge devices to watch streaming video in all rooms of the home is further diminished.”

One of the most surprising findings of Aluma’s latest SVOD research is that mobile devices and PCs account for 9% of streaming TV viewing, exceeding that of game consoles (6%, down from 26% of in 2015). Notably, this matches OTT viewing on pay TV set-top boxes.

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Age plays a significant role in how SVOD users partition their TV streaming:

o Smart TVs account for 53% of TV streaming among adults 45+, but only 39% among 18-24s.
o Game console’s contribution to TV streaming is greatest among 18-34s (15%), least so among 65+ (1%).
o Pay-TV set-top box’s part is greatest among SVOD users 65+ (15%), least so among 18-35s (3%).
o PC and mobile TV connections account for 17% of TV streaming among 18-24s, least so among 45+ (6%).