Scottsdale, Ariz. – Some 27 million U.S. homes (21 percent of all
households) have either an Internet-ready TV, game console, stand-alone Blu-ray
player and/or smart set-top box connected to their home network, according to a
new poll issued by ABI Research.
According to ABI’s new report, “Connected Home Devices Market
Data,” the top connected device categories include the game console (80 percent
of connected TV homes), followed by Internet TVs (27 percent), stand-alone
Blu-ray players (24 percent) and smart set-top boxes (13 percent).
“Game consoles got an early lead in the connectivity space when
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 launched in late 2005. Multiplayer gaming, along with the
attention devoted to features outside of gaming from all three key console
manufacturers, Microsoft and Sony in particular, have helped catapult the game
console to the top of the connected CE space,” said Michael Inouye, ABI
Research senior analyst.
In total, nearly half of U.S. households have at least one
current generation game console, while almost 16 percent have an Internet-ready
TV, a base similar for stand-alone Blu-ray players (smart set-top boxes comes
in at less than 5 percent).
“It is clear that a relatively large number of consumers have not
connected some of these devices to the network, most notably Internet-ready
TVs,” ABI said in a statement. “Looking out to 2017, the penetration rates are
expected to exceed 60 percent for game consoles, TVs and Blu-ray players, and
while not all of these devices will be connected, there is certainly room for
growth, as only 48.5 percent of consumers with a home network currently have
one of these devices connected to the Internet.”
Inouye added, “As CE manufacturers increase the value proposition
by adding new services and features to these connected devices, the connect
rate will certainly climb. This in turn will lead to an increased amount of
time spent on these devices, but currently ABI Research does not anticipate a
significant shift away from traditional pay-TV services, although it is
possible these devices will contribute to limiting pay-TV’s growth potential.”
The full “Connected Home Devices Market Data” report is available
at the
.
