DURHAM, N.H.—New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group finds that watching video on connected devices is now a daily habit in many homes, with two in five adults (39%) watching video on a connected device each day but the usage, which jumped during the pandemic, is leveling off.
The survey also found that the habit is widespread, both among pay TV subs and people without a pay TV service. About 35% of adults with a pay-TV service watch video via a connected TV device daily, compared to 50% of pay-TV non-subscribers.
Overall, 60% of adults watch video via a connected TV device at least weekly. That is about the same as 2020 (59%) but notably up from 52% in 2019, 40% in 2016, and 10% in 2011.
“Use of connected TV devices levelled off over the past year after being pulled forward due to the coronavirus pandemic last year,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “Still, 39% of adults watch video on a TV via a connected device daily, and 60% at least weekly. Over 80% of TV households in the U.S. now have at least one connected TV device, with a mean of 4.1 devices per connected TV household."
Younger individuals are most likely to use connected TV devices. Among all ages 18-34, 54% watch video on a TV via a connected device daily, compared to 43% of ages 35-54 and 22% of ages 55+.
About 55% of TV households have at least one stand-alone streaming device, up from 49% in 2019, 33% in 2016, and 3% in 2011
In addition, about 43% of all TV sets in U.S. households are connected smart TVs, an increase from 32% in 2019, 19% in 2016, and 7% in 2014.
But as usage has increased, spending on new sets is down as consumers are able to buy larger sets for less money. The survey found that spending on a new TV was about $530, down from $795 in 2016.
These findings are based on a survey of 2,000 TV households in the U.S., and are part of a new LRG study, `Connected TVs 2021.’
This is LRG’s eighteenth annual study on TVs in the U.S.
