BOSTON, Mass.—Smart TVs in the U.S. have reached a milestone with a new study from Hub Entertainment Research showing that American homes now own an estimated 204 million smart TV sets, breaking the 200 million mark for the first time.
The fifth annual wave of Hub Entertainment Research’s “Connected Home” study found that almost eight in ten (77%) TV households say they own a smart TV, up from 66% three years ago. Well over a majority of all TV sets – six in ten (61%) – are now reported to be smart sets, up from 45% in 2020.
TV homes report an average of 1.7 smart TVs per home. Using an estimate of about 120 million TV homes, this projects to Americans owning 204 million smart TV sets, the study found.
In addition, more people are using their smart TVs to stream. Overall, almost nine in ten (88%) smart TV homes regularly stream shows through their smart TV’s built-in capability. This proportion is substantially greater than seen in 2020, when just 3 in 4 owners were using their smart TVs to stream.
“Smart TVs will continue to account for an ever-larger slice of TVs, since almost all but the smallest TVs now have smart capabilities,” said David Tice, senior consultant to Hub and co-author of the study. “Greater ownership of smart TVs – and use of more of them for streaming – creates compound growth, creating opportunities for streamers, advertisers, set manufacturers, and other stakeholders.”
These findings are from Hub’s “Connected Home 2023” report, based on a survey conducted among 5,026 US consumers. Interviews were conducted in February 2023 and cover consumer ownership of many types of media-related technologies. A free excerpt of the findings is available on Hub’s website. This report is part of Hub’s Entertainment + Technology Tracker syndicated report series.
