Streaming has slowly but surely become a staple, so much so that according to a new report by the Leichtman Research Group, 80 percent of TV households in the U.S. have at least one internet-connected TV device. The number has gradually increased over the years as more and more content has become accessible via connected smart TVs; streaming devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV stick or set-top box, Chromecast, or Apple TV; connected video game systems and/or connected Blu-ray players.
The number has has leaped at each turn, starting at 24 percent in 2010, then 57 percent in 2015 and then 74 percent in 2018.
“The data in this study indicates that there are now nearly 400 million connected TV devices in U.S. TV households. This is an increase from about 250 million connected TV devices in 2016. And these totals do not even include pay-TV set-top boxes that can be used to access content from the Internet,” stated Leichtman Research Group president and principal analyst Bruce Leichtman.
“Along with this increase in the number of devices, the percent of adults in the U.S. using these connected devices to watch video on a TV each day has more than doubled — growing from 19 percent to 40 percent—in just the past four years.”
The study also found that roughly 64 percent of households have three or more devices while 58 percent of TV households have at least one connected smart TV, up from the 47 percent in 2018. The Leichtman Research Group also found that 56 percent of households have at least one stand-alone streaming device — up from 46 percent in 2018, 23 percent in 2015, and 3 percent in 2011.