If you’ve been able to keep up with the deluge of announcements so far in 2011 about smart TVs, connected devices, TV Everywhere, content mobility, and many others related to the convergence of the Internet and TV, then you clearly must not have time for eating, sleeping or personal hygiene!
The simple fact that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the sheer number of announcements is a sign that the connected TV marketplace moves in warp speed and the marketplace is aggressively feeding the consumer’s appetite for these services. A quick scan of recent stories with headlines that range from “Why Connected TV is Poised to Revolutionize Entertainment” and “Connected TV and 3D: Booming Industry Provides Plethora of Opportunities” shows how much energy, investment and creativity is being is being dedicated to turning this trend into reality.
The story excerpts below are just a sampling of statistics, analysis and milestones on the connected TV marketplace:
- A Mashable column written by a Yahoo! Connected TV executive states, “According to Parks Associates, less than a quarter of HDTVs were connected to the Internet in 2010, but by 2015, that number will spike to 76%. The reason for this massive jump? With increasing consumer demand for connectivity in the living room and faster broadband speeds, device makers will make it convenient for HDTVs to connect directly to the Internet without an extra device in-between.”
- Multichannel News reports that, “The marketplace for televisions and mobile devices with internet capabilities – or ‘connected’ devices – is booming; by 2015 the amount of consumers with a connected device will triple.”
- A Consumer Electronic Association study says, ”The study also showed that households are increasingly streaming video content through their devices. Subscriptions to movie rental services experienced a 40 percent growth year-over-year. With more than 28 million subscribers, content providers have enabled access to services directly through displays, game consoles and other set-top boxes connected to the Internet. Greater broadband access will continue to increase streaming video subscriptions.”
- Broadcasting & Cable says, “In a move that highlights the growing consumer embrace of connected TVs, Samsung Electronics Co. has announced that the Samsung Apps store has seen more than 5 million downloads of TV apps worldwide since it was launch in February for 2010 and that consumers are now downloading about 25,000 TV apps a day.”
- Multichannel News says that, “Comcast released a version of its Xfinity TV app for Apple iPhone and iPod touch devices, and has boosted video-on-demand content available through its apps to almost 6,000 hours with the addition of several new programming partners.”
The best news, of course, is that all of this is happening without any government mandates or rules. We certainly hope it stays that way and this incredible innovation can continue to flourish unimpeded.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Also see this earlier post from the 2011 CES.
Tags: connected TV, smart TV, TV Everywhere