About half of U.S. homes now own a connected TV device, a category that spans connected TVs, game consoles, streaming players and Blue-ray Disc players, NPD Group found in a new study.
The number of homes with a connected device stands at about 46 million, up 4 million since Q2 2014, NPD Group found its new report.
The research firm’s retailing tracking service discovered that that 45% of TVs sold in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2015 supported apps, up from 34% last year, and up from 24% two years ago. Consumers are also connecting those TVs to the Internet at increased rates, as 69% of all installed Internet-capable TVs were connected, versus 61% last year, and 45% in 2013.
Among individual apps, Netflix retained its crown as the most commonly used OTT video services in Q2 2015, followed by YouTube, Amazon Prime/Instant Video, Hulu and HBO Go and HBO Now, the programmer’s new standalone OTT subscription offering.
“The increase in the number of homes that use a TV with apps is the result of three very important factors,” said John Buffone, NPD Group’s executive director, Connected Intelligence, said in a statement. “Sales of TVs with apps have skyrocketed, their user interfaces have improved and there has been a surge in available premium services and programming.”
NPD Group based its findings on a survey of more than 5,000 U.S. consumers age 18 and older throughout the second quarter of 2015.
