Connected TV set for massive boom

The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 759 million by 2018 for 40 countries covered in the Connected TV Forecasts report from Digital TV Research, up from 115 million at end-2010 and the 307 million expected at end-2013. This translates to 26.8 per cent of global TV sets by 2018, up from only 5.1 per cent at end-2010 and 12.4 per cent by end-2013.

Connected TV is becoming more international. The US will still command a third of connected TV sets by end-2013, but this proportion will fall to 23.5 per cent by 2018. China will climb from 6.6 per cent of the 2013 total to 16.4 per cent by 2018.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Connected TV is undergoing the largest upheaval in its short history. The introduction of affordable devices such as Google’s Chromecast and Sky’s Now TV are shaking up the market, with connected TV set manufacturers already reducing their prices as a reaction to this increased rivalry. The introduction of three next-generation games consoles adds further competition.”

Chromecast and similar products are likely to have a considerable impact. The global total of connected TV sets via streaming/retail set-top boxes will reach 126 million in 2018, up from only 4 million in 2010. The 34 million expected by end-2013 is double the 2012 total.

Fixed games consoles will be boosted by the launch of three next-generation consoles (Wii U, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One). The new consoles are good news for connected TV as they require an Internet connection for users to obtain full access to games. The Internet connection also allows games players to watch web-delivered TV and video programmes. The number of connected games consoles will rise to 176 million by 2018; double the 2012 total.

However, the number of installed smart TV sets will overtake games consoles connected to the web during 2013. Smart TV sets will account for 34 per cent of the 2018 total connected sets, or 259 million. There were 31 million installed smart TV sets by end-2010, and this total will rocket to 110 million by end-2013.

Pay-TV operators also want a slice of the action. Although it is yet to take off too much (with Liberty Global/UPC experiencing mixed results so far for its Horizon box), connected TV via the pay-TV set-top box has plenty of potential as operators strive to retain their subscribers. So, from humble beginnings, there will be 117 million sets accessing the Internet via the pay TV set-top box by end-2018.

Despite limited take-up so far, Blu-ray players will be important in the connected TV expansion, with 81 million connections forecast by 2018 – or nearly double the end-2013 total.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/technology-news/item/3337-connected-tv-set-for-massive-boom.html
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/technology-news/item/3337-connected-tv-set-for-massive-boom.html