China will overtake US in connected TV sales in 2014

BOSTON, USA: The global connected flat-panel TV (FPTV) market will increase to 91 million units in 2012, according to the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service report, “Global Flat-panel TV and Connected TV Forecast 2012.”

By the end of 2011, nearly 100 million households worldwide owned at least one Connected FPTV, 6 percent of global household penetration. Strategy Analytics projects that the number of global connected FPTV households will reach 502 million by 2016.

Content providers and Pay TV operators will increasingly leverage the growing presence of connected TVs to reach consumers, driving the growth of connected TVs. Nearly 40 percent of all FPTVs sold in 2012 are projected to be internet-enabled; and this figure will rise to 80 percent in 2016. The United States will remain the largest market for connected TVs in 2012, with sales projected to reach 18 million units.

However, China will soon seize the top spot of the connected TV market, as it is expected to exceed US connected TV sales in 2014. The Asia Pacific region, driven by China and India, will account for 42 percent of all connected TV sales in 2016.

Jia Wu, director, Connected Home Devices (CHD) at Strategy Analytics, commented: “Consumers are starting to enjoy services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer on their internet-enabled televisions. The increasing availability of a broad range of other services, like Skype and YouTube, will make the proposition of connected TVs more compelling.”

Kantideep Thota, CHD Analyst, added, “Despite rapid connected TV growth in China, its household penetration of connected TVs will remain low, with less than one-third of Chinese households owning a connected TV by the end of 2016.”