In the US, TV is their primary screen for viewing paid and free video streamed from the internet, according to the NPD Group.
Watching streaming video on the TV set has risen from 33% to 45%. During the same period, consumers who used a PC as the primary screen for viewing over-the-top (OTT) streamed-video content declined from 48% to 31%. This shift not only reflects a strong consumer preference for watching TV and movies on big screen TVs, but also coincides with the rapid adoption of connected TVs.
NPD’s recent Digital Video Outlook report reveals that home installation of millions of Internet-connected TVs is changing the way that consumers access and view streaming video. As of the second quarter of 2012, 12% of the installed base of consumer TVs in the US were connected TVs, totaling more than 29 million devices.
Approximately 10% of U.S. consumer households currently own at least one connected TV. NPD research conducted over the past year has found that 43% of connected TV users accessed online entertainment directly from their TVs, including online video, music, and cloud services.
“The growth in connected TVs is another sign that online video is maturing,” said Russ Crupnick, SVP of industry analysis for the NPD Group. “Streaming video has moved from the dorm room to the living room; and, as more households obtain and connect TVs to the Web, we predict increased trial and engagement for video distribution services.”
Netflix Watch Instantly is the dominant application for Web-to-TV video. Of those viewing online video on the TV, 40% use their connected TVs to stream video via Netflix, 12% access HuluPlus, and 4% connect to Vudu. Connected TVs, which offer direct access to these and other popular online video services via TV apps, represent a convenient alternative to PCs, or the use of other Internet-connected peripheral devices.
NPD’s study also found that nearly one in five connected-TV installations resulted in consumers no longer using peripheral devices, such as streaming media players, video game consoles, and Blu-ray Disc players, to access streaming video on the TV. This decline in usage could impact the usage models and utility of peripheral devices.
NPD’s “Digital Video Outlook” report is based on data collected from multiple sources, including two electronic surveys. The quarterly survey includes approximately 1,200 U.S. broadband households. Survey data was weighted to represent U.S. population (age 13 and older) and tested for statistical significance at the 95% confidence level. The semi-annual survey includes approximately 10,000 respondents. Data from this survey has a 97% level of confidence, with a +/- 0.7% margin of error.