Study: 62% of Households Use Smart TVs to Stream, Even if Most Consumers Don’t Fully Understand Them

TVs today are working smarter and harder as the majority of homes contain at least one smart TV according to Hub's latest study. As streaming becomes more commonplace and smart TVs are more widely available, it makes sense for consumers to gravitate towards a set that provides more than just a quality image.

In its fourth “Evolution of the TV Set” report, Hub found that 62% of homes use a smart TV, a staggering increase from the 47% found only a year prior. Of those consumers, many are finding more opportunities to play with the “smarter” aspects of their devices. Most smart TVs can now link with computers, phones, and other devices, making it easier for consumers to switch between their favorite gadgets with ease. Approximately 40% listen to streaming music via their TVs, the most widely used alternative feature available. Casting and screen-sharing have also skyrocketed, almost doubling in popularity since 2020.

These numbers line up with data from a 2022 U.S. Consumer Insights survey that indicates that owning a smart TV does little to influence what content people own, but it does change how they use their TV. This also coincides with how much, or how little, consumers know about what their smart TVs can do. Hub’s findings indicate that only about half of smart TV owners know “a lot,” while most know at least something concerning the capabilities of their devices. Only 60% understand 4K and even less know about the newer 8K technology, suggesting that TVs are evolving much faster than consumers can keep up with.

Roku is also dominating the TV operating system (TV OS) race, with Fire TV pulling a close second. With Roku streaming devices appearing in more homes than Fire TVs and Android TVs, consumers’ choice appears to largely be based on brand familiarity. This is bad news for up-and-coming TV OS providers such as Xperi, which announced its plans to create a TV OS for third-party smart TV brands that would directly rival Roku’s incredible market share.

Hub also learned that talking to TVs may eventually be the preferred method of interaction. Approximately a third of surveyed homes had at least one of their TVs connected to a smart speaker via a remote, a separate Alexa-like unit, or housed within the TV itself. Amazon’s Echo continues to be the smart speaker of choice, and 40% of viewers use such means to control their TVs exclusively. Even Roku’s own streaming device, the premium Roku Ultra now comes bundled with the Voice Remote Pro, further indicating that the tech company is staying ahead of the game.