Global revenues of connected TVs will reach $29.3 billion (€20.4 billion) in 2011 and account for 58% of global revenues for internet TV equipment in 2011, according to finding by IMS Research.
Rebecca Kurlak, author of the report Market Opportunities for Internet Video to the TV – 2010 edition, said in a statement: “At CES 2010, CE companies appeared to be largely pushing the 3D concept as a feature in their display offerings. However, a larger part of the picture that wasn’t as heavily addressed is still the growing opportunity to provide consumers with access to more content, and in this case, OTT content.”
Colleagues at In-Stat agree. “Most web-enabled CE devices will be sold in developed countries. Our research shows that within five years nearly all broadband households will own at least one web-enabled CE media device,” said Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. “The implications of this across the digital entertainment industry will be huge.”
According to IMS Research’s Kurlak, “Although many of the TV manufacturers have committed to manufacturing at least 25%-30% of their TV product lines with connectivity in 2010, IMS Research forecasts that 12.5% of 2010 global TVs shipped will have connectivity. This is mainly due to two factors: 1) TV manufacturers that were interviewed for the study stated that their first half of 2010 sales would largely influence the second half of 2010’s production schedules, and 2) the economy is still in recovery mode, and TV manufacturers may be more optimistic regarding 2010 production schedules than they should be. In fact, IMS believes that 2011 connected TVs shipped will be at the 30% marker, a year later than expected by TV manufacturers.”
Since Blu-ray manufacturers have been quick to incorporate content libraries into their offerings, IMS believes that TV manufacturers will follow suit and address content partnerships this year. Before 3D viewing becomes a necessity, IMS Research anticipates that consumers will demand access to other avenues of content.
According to In-Stat, over-the-top video services are increasingly offering compelling alternatives to traditional TV viewing. New services, such as Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and Blockbuster, offer streamed or downloadable TV and movie content. Online TV programming portals, such as Hulu, TV.com, and YouTube, have expanded into full-length video content. Web-enabled devices, which are a necessity to access these services, are now proliferating across device categories that include TVs, Blu-ray Players, Digital Media Adapters (DMAs), network attached storage, and set top boxes.
In-Stat said it found the following: Worldwide shipments of web-enabled stationary CE devices will grow more than seven-fold from their 2009 levels to over 230 million by 2013; There will be over one-half billion web-enabled CE devices in operation worldwide by 2013; In 2009, there were five broadband households worldwide for every web-enabled CE device. By 2013, this ratio will be 2:1.
Many cable operators, worldwide, are predicted to introduce BBC iPlayer-like OTT services for catch-up and on-demand program viewing; In-Stat’s consumer survey indicates that over half of US consumers with network-connected Blu-ray DVD players/recorders use Wi-Fi, while 30% use Ethernet. The full results are in the In-Stat report Global Web-Enabled Consumer Electronics Devices Set to Explode.