Latest analysis of our ConsumerMetrix survey reveals that the TV screen is catching up on PC displays, which have traditionally been the favoured viewing window for TV shows and movies delivered via the internet. 63% of internet TV viewers (who have watched a TV show or movie streamed or downloaded from the internet in the past month) use a portable computer, followed by 47% who use a desktop PC and 46% who connect their TV screen to the internet. Smartphones and tablets follow some way behind but have seen the fastest growth over the past year.
Elsewhere in the survey we identify how people are connecting their TVs to the internet, for which there are of course a bewildering array of options. Perhaps surprisingly the most favoured approach is still to connect a PC to the TV using an HDMI cable: 23% of internet TV viewers use this set-up. This is followed by use of a games console, where the PlayStation 3 is the most popular choice in the UK market. Use of smart TVs for internet TV viewing is still relatively low, at less than half the level of HDMI PC usage. Based on what’s happening in the US, where tablet ownership is higher, we’re expecting tablet viewing in the UK to increase rapidly over the coming year.