53% of consumers believe that mobile devices like smartphones and tablets will replace television sets in the next eight years as the most common way to consume entertainment.
Of that group, 31% believe that change will actually occur sooner, in the next one to five years, according to research commissioned by Irdeto.
Released at CES 2014, the survey was conducted among 1,000 nationally representative US adults, ages 18+, between December 17 and December 23, 2013. It tackled important questions on entertainment viewing preferences, highlighting that traditional TV viewing is still king in America’s households.
The majority of consumers (65%) still prefer to watch their favorite content live at the time of broadcast (also known as linear programming), whether it is on their television or streaming on a mobile device.
60% of the Netflix generation (18-24 year olds) indicated they prefer to watch full series at once, without waiting a week or more in between new episodes. This underscores the binge-watching trend that kicked into high gear with the 2013 release of Netflix’s original series House of Cards.
When it comes to broadband connected devices, 31% of people believe they will be using a smart TV to watch movies and television within five years, rather than popular CE devices like gaming consoles (6%), hybrid streaming devices like Roku (6%), tablets and mobile phones (5%) and dongles such as Google Chromecast (2%).
Consumer demand for 4K TV sets is gaining momentum but still has a way to go, with only 18% “very interested” and 40% “somewhat interested” in purchasing a 4K/Ultra HD television. Sixteen percent (16%) of respondents revealed that they are not at all interested in the newer technology
“In the past 10 years, we’ve seen mobile devices eclipse the consumer landline telephone market, and we’re seeing a similar fundamental shift in the television industry,” said Richard Frankland, VP, sales, Americas, Irdeto.
“As the data indicates, we have reached a point where not only are devices as important to consumers as televisions, but a generational clash is also occurring between the demand for live programming and over the top services. The consumer electronics industry is working to get those consumers back through innovations like 4K, and the operators and content owners will follow suit by creating profitable offerings that meet consumer demands.”
