According to Parks Associates, the number of households worldwide with an over-the-top (OTT) video service subscription will exceed 265 million by 2022. The popularity of over-the-top (OTT) video services, such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, has driven a steady increase in adoption of smart TVs and streaming media players since 2010, the research house says.
"Fifty-three percent of U.S. broadband households own a smart TV, and both smart TVs and streaming media players are continually improving the user experience to accommodate the shifting habits of consumers, including integration with voice-based digital assistant ecosystems," said Kristen Hanich, Parks research analyst. "The rise of these digital assistants is another key trend over the last few years, with Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana, and Samsung Bixby, among others, now on the market. Both smart home and connected entertainment developers are working to integrate this functionality into their products."
The research house says consumers now own an average of 8.6 connected consumer electronics (CE) products in their home, an 87% growth in the average volume of devices since 2010. Other findings indicate:
- More than 70% of U.S. broadband households have an Internet-connected entertainment device.
- 17% own both a smart home device and an Internet-connected entertainment device.
- Parks Associates estimates that more than 265 million households worldwide will have a total of more than 400 million OTT video service subscriptions by the end of 2022.
"With IoT expansion comes added expectations of interoperability," said Jennifer Kent, director of research quality and product development at Parks. "Consumers prioritize general device interoperability over staying within a specific brand ecosystem when considering a purchase; three-fourths of consumers find it important to consider any smart home product brand that will work with other products in their home, and 49% find this very important."