One in five of all TV sets sold in Germany during 2010 will be a connected TV set, according to research from Gold Media in Berlin. By 2015, there should be 23 million hybrid TV sets in German households.
The research firm also said that by 2015, one in every three TV homes will access television via the web. Consumer electronics manufacturers, game consoles, computer companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple and Google are all in the race to get access to hybrid TV sets.
According to research from GfK, of the 550,000 current connected TV homes already 20% access over-the-top content. According to Gold Media, by 2015 the penetration of connected TV sets will reach 58%. This would translate into one out of three actually using web TV.
“In the short term there will not be a revolution in the living room,” said Gold Media senior advisor Mathias Birkel. “And we do not expect the TV set to replace the PC for a typical internet applications. For the use environments are too different. And yet: just as in the mobile world uses the internet, internet TV applications will also contribute to total TV viewing time. With more hybrid TV content complementing TV programmes, the internet may increasingly become part of the daily TV routine. ”
This development also offers unique opportunities for navigation services. Ther will be a need for intelligent solutions that guide the user through the jungle of the visual abundance of TV and web TV services on the TV. “The struggle of the platform providers and content producers around the connected home is in full swing. What systems and player will prevail in the end is far from clear,”, according to Gold Media. For more information see their (German language) website.
On the chart below, projections of the growth of hybrid TV sets in Germany. The yellow column denotes penetration of hybrid TV sets, the orange colour denotes actual usage of over-the-top services.
Projection of hybrid TV set growth in Germany (source: Gold Media)
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