PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—New survey data highlights how smart TVs are becoming the most influential gatekeepers in entertainment, playing an increasingly important role in how viewers discover and watch content.

Data from Hub Entertainment Research’s annual “Evolution of the TV Set” indicates that asking "What good TV shows are you watching?" may be less relevant than asking, "What TV set do you own?" in terms of viewing habits and the ability of smart TV operating systems to influence those choices.

Fox's recent $22 billion acquisition of Roku is the clearest signal yet that control of the TV operating system is becoming one of the industry's most valuable strategic assets, the research suggests.

The “Evolution of the TV Set” study, which reveals the growing influence of the TV set in shaping how viewers discover and engage with content, finds that the operating systems powering today’s smart TVs have become the primary doorway for both programming and advertising.

"The conversation around finding great TV to watch is poised to become like the `Mac vs. PC' or `Android vs. iPhone' battles from prior years — as viewers learn that some TV operating systems do better jobs than others at helping them find good stuff to watch," said Jason Platt Zolov, senior consultant at Hub. "The merger of Fox and Roku will be a watershed proof point that some streamers will have more influence than others, depending on what TV set you own."

Key findings from the report include:

• Smart TVs dominate viewing, and streaming households are embracing Roku and Fire TV more than Android, Tizen (Samsung) or webOS (LG) systems that power those sets.
• Most homes have three TVs, and two of those are now smart TVs, making them more dominant than ever.
• For the TV set they use most, streaming TV viewers are no longer flipping channels: they are living in app-centric environments that are increasingly powered by Roku (37%) and Fire TV (17%), well ahead of Android, Tizen or Apple TV users.

The researchers noted that within different TV operating systems, the viewer's goal is clear: "how can I quickly find a specific program I want to watch?"

When asked to rank what matters most, viewers rank "Easy search" as the most valued discovery feature (60% call it “very important”), well ahead of "personal recommendations" (31%) or seeing "trending content" (25%).

AI-powered TV search features are poised to help viewers solve this search problem. When asked to choose the most valuable AI-powered TV viewing features, more than half of viewers want AI features that either help them find similar things they like (27%) or more effectively exclude stuff they don't like (28%).

While quick search is most important, home screen real estate and recommendations still significantly impact what people watch.

Some TV operating systems sway users more than others: suggested titles on the TV home screen within Apple TV, Fire TV, Android and Roku environments are all more likely to be watched than those titles being suggested by Samsung (Tizen) and LG (webOS), the survey found.

As viewers continue to invest in smart TVs, the vital importance of influencing consumers to install apps when they first turn on their new TV cannot be overstated, the researchers stressed.

Half (51%) say they install suggested apps during setup — but more (56%) this year than in 2024 (47%) say they rarely add apps after that first day home with the TV — a reminder that more needs to be done to capture new TV owners with apps they will love.

These findings are from Hub’s 2026 “Evolution of the TV Set” report, based on a survey conducted among 2,500 US consumers ages 16-74. Interviews were conducted in May 2026. A free excerpt of the findings is available on Hub’s website.

PHILADELPHIA—The Xumo streaming platform joint venture between Comcast and Charter has announced the nationwide launch of a new line of Xumo TVs from Westinghouse.

Westinghouse's Xumo TVs are now available in the U.S. on Amazon.com and Walmart.com, with plans to expand to additional retailers in the future.

Westinghouse Xumo TVs are available in 4K UHD (43-inch and 50-inch) and 2K HD (24-, 32-, 40- and 43-inch) models. Later this year, 55-, 58- and 65-inch 4K models will become available, Xumo reported.

“Westinghouse and Xumo are a natural fit because we each prioritize quality and simplicity in the products we build,” said Stephanie Cassi, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Xumo. “The Westinghouse Xumo TV delivers on both of those pillars, providing consumers an elevated viewing experience with an intuitive interface that makes discovering content effortless.”

“We chose Xumo for our next line of Westinghouse TVs because its user-friendly OS cuts through the complexity of today’s streaming landscape,” said Russ Johnston, president of Westinghouse Electronics USA. “We’re thrilled to launch these new models to Westinghouse dealers and distributors—giving consumers a chance to bring home a high-quality, affordable smart TV at a great value.”

Xumo described the key features of the Westinghouse Xumo TV as follows:

• The best in streaming. It comes with top apps like Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, Peacock and Prime Video, and free streaming services like Pluto TV, Tubi and Xumo Play, as well as hundreds of additional apps.
• Content-forward home screen: The Xumo TV home screen puts content front and center. Customers can quickly jump back into recently watched content, or they can browse personalized recommendations and curated collections featuring programming from across their favorite streaming services.
• Universal Voice Search: Rather than hopping between apps or guessing where to watch, Xumo TV’s voice search enables customers to find what they’re looking for by searching across multiple streaming apps—all at once. With the included voice remote, customers can search by saying a title, actor or genre into their remote, eliminating the need for manual text input.
• My List: With My List, customers can bookmark shows and movies across streaming services and create a personalized watchlist they can come back to when they’re ready to find something new.
• Next-level picture and audio quality: The 4K UHD Westinghouse Xumo TVs support Dolby Vision HDR10 technology, providing enhanced color and contrast for an ever-more immersive viewing experience, and Dolby Atmos pass-through, which enables a theater-like sound experience when connected to compatible audio devices.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—New data shows that U.S. homes now own an average of two smart TVs, with Samsung and LG dominating the market but Roku and FireTV continue to gain market share, according to Hub Entertainment Researcher.

The Hub Entertainment Research’s annual "Evolution of the TV Set" study found that Samsung and LG continue to be market leaders, with Vizio and Sony a strong second tier. But among "most-used TV sets," Roku usage doubled to 8% and FireTVs increased to 5%, significant growth since 2024.

The study also highlighted the importance of new features, particularly in the area of content discovery, as a way for set-makers to gain market share.

"Without a single TV operating system dominating the market, each has the opportunity to better promote streaming services and AI-viewing enhancements to make things easier for viewers," says Jason Platt Zolov, senior consultant at Hub. "The challenge of finding a good show to watch is not just about too many services to choose from; it’s about finding a TV operating system that simplifies those choices in a way that works.”

The study also found that more than ever TVs are for more than just TV viewing. More than a third of users say they keep their TVs on whether or not they are sitting in front of it. Non-TV features like music-listening (done by nearly half of users) and smart device connectivity like video calls and doorbell monitoring continue to be big growth opportunities for users.

The study also highlighted the fact that app-centric TV screens are the window to how people find content.

The growing importance of the TV operating system (OS) interface is stronger than ever, with most viewers first seeing home screen apps when they turn on their TVs. Even for people who still subscribe to cable, this app-centric world is now the norm, the researchers stressed.

The study also focused on content discovery and AI-driven search recommendations. While universal search features to find content across services have generally fallen short for users, hampered by usability challenges, the study found that new AI driven recommendations offer hope to help solve for content discovery, as more than half of current AI users are interested in AI-powered TV enhancements to help them find and watch the shows they love.

These findings are from Hub’s 2025 “Evolution of TV Set” report, based on a survey of 2,528 US consumers age 16-74. Interviews were completed in May 2025. A free excerpt of the findings is available on Hub’s website. This report is part of the “Entertainment & Tech Tracker” syndicated report series.

Amazon said it has sold more than 250 million Fire TV devices globally since the platform’s launch in 2014 and has added new devices to its lineup. They include the new Omni Mini-LED Series smart TV, which Amazon bills as its most powerful immersive smart TV.

“We’ve been working to make TVs even smarter for years, and in 2021, we created the Fire TV Omni Series—the first-ever Amazon-built TV designed to mix Fire TV’s content-rich entertainment experience with truly smart features that would take the TV to the next level,” Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, said in a blog post.

Since then “customers have made smart TVs into Fire TV’s fastest-growing business,” Rausch wrote. To build on that momentum, “we’re excited to introduce Fire TV’s most cinematic and best-sounding living room lineups ever: the brand-new Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series and Fire TV Soundbar Plus Series, and a redesigned Fire TV 4-Series.”

The Omni Mini-LED Series features a cinematic QLED Mini-LED display and delivers up to 1,400 nits of peak brightness and up to 1,344 dimming zones—plus support for Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive—bringing out every detail with more vibrant colors, deeper blacks, and richer contrast, Amazon said. The lineup features built-in far-field technology to discover shows and movies, manage playback and control the Fire TV Ambient Experience hands-free using Alexa voice control. Available in a wide array of display sizes, the set introduces a number of new features into the Fire TV lineup, including:

• Intelligent picture technology, which combines artificial intelligence with the lineup’s new advanced light and color sensor to enhance picture quality by automatically identifying, analyzing, and optimizing scenes in real time, fine-tuning picture details like landscapes, buildings, sports, and more. The TV’s light and color sensor simultaneously detects the room’s lighting conditions, adjusting brightness and color temperature for optimal viewing—day or night.
• Prime Video’s new feature uses generative AI to recap what you’re watching, with X-Ray Recaps.
• Ambient Experience’s new immersive art. The lineup comes with a customer-favorite feature, the Fire TV Ambient Experience, which replaces blank TV screens with helpful information and beautiful artwork when not streaming. The TV’s brand-new high-fidelity radar sensor powers an upcoming delightful new feature within the Ambient Experience which transforms motion into art. When Ambient Experience is active, customers can see colorful scenes come to life—like fluttering butterflies, swimming koi fish, and colorful tiles—that dynamically respond to movement in front of the TV.
• Interactive artwork joins AI Art and a growing collection of more than 2,000 free, gallery-quality images available within the Ambient Experience. Customers are responding to Ambient Experience’s immersive innovations, generating millions of unique images since AI Art’s launch. And, later this month, we’re adding 100 new pieces of artwork including new motion art as well as landscape, underwater, and NASA space photography.
• Fire TV’s most cinematic smart TV audio experience yet. The lineup introduces support for Dolby Atmos audio—plus two powerful speakers and up to two built-in subwoofers—to deliver deep bass, clarity, and dynamic range for an immersive audio experience.
• Premium gaming features. The first Amazon-built TV with an AMD FreeSync Premium Pro certification, this lineup delivers a truly premium gaming experience. Combining Variable Refresh Rate, Auto Low Latency Mode, and a new, lightning-fast 144Hz refresh rate in Gaming Mode, Fire TV Omni Mini-LED Series eliminates visual artifacts and input lag, providing gamers with the competitive edge they need—whether they're immersed in fast-paced action, open-world adventures, or anything in between.
• Future-proof connectivity support for Wi-FI 6E. The lineup introduces support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, enabling customers with Wi-Fi 6E routers to future-proof their wireless connectivity and enjoy blazing fast, ultra-smooth, and low-latency streaming.
• In addition, the new Omni Mini-LED series will also expand Fire TV’s industry-leading support for the Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) protocol with Dual Audio. Coming soon, the new accessibility feature enables customers with ASHA-enabled hearing aids to get high-quality audio delivered directly to their hearing aids while others simultaneously listen through the TV’s speakers. Dual Audio builds on our work with global leaders in hearing aid technology, Starkey and Cochlear, to offer more Fire TV customers seamless audio integration with their assistive devices.

More information on other new devices are available here.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—As linear TV viewing continues to decline a new survey from Hub highlights just how much smart TVs are impacting the way viewers are accessing content and finding something to watch. Unlike the past, when viewers flipped through TV channels, the new Hub “Evolution of the TV Set” study indicates that smart TV owners embrace the app-centric viewing environments that deliver more than just TV entertainment. 

About half of those surveyed said that they started their TV viewing experience by looking at TV apps and opening them. 

"You can't underestimate the power of what people see first when they turn on the TV," says Jason Platt Zolov, senior consultant at Hub. "Smart TVs are clearly becoming home technology hubs, giving programmers and advertisers more opportunity to partner with TV manufacturers in compelling ways that will only deepen engagement with viewers.”

Other key findings include the fact that the share of TV sets used to stream continues to grow.

In 2024, 60% of respondents “most-used” TV sets are connected to a streaming platform – up by half since 2020.  At the same time, the share of primary TVs connected to cable continues to fall (38% this year, down from 52% in 2020.)

The survey also found that smart TV operating systems now drive more than half of viewing sessions. Hub reported that smart TV operating systems are are also exerting more and more influence over what people watch, with 38% percent say the first thing they see when they turn on their TV is the apps installed on the home screen of their smart TV. Another 27% say they see the apps on a home screen of an external media player, (like a Roku player or Apple TV box). Only 19% see a show in progress from a cable company. The discovery process is becoming one driven by apps and smart TV operating systems, the researchers said. 

 The study also stressed that it is not just cable that is being disintermediated: the smart TV OS is also taking discovery duties away from individual apps. While half (50%) of viewers say they first typically open a specific app (like Netflix) to find something to watch, the other half use capabilities built into the smart TV itself. About one quarter (26%) choose from shows highlighted on their smart TV home screen; another 24% use the universal search function built into their smart TV to search for shows across all their services.

This makes the home screen value precious – for both the apps that reside there and how well TV operating systems can deliver on quality universal search across apps, the study reported. 

More specifically, smart TVs strongly influence the apps being used to discover shows. In many cases smart TVs dictate which apps consumers decide to watch in the first place – especially during the setup process. Half (51%) of respondents say that they installed a new TV app recommended by their smart TV operating system when they set up their TV for the first time. And nearly half (47%) said that once their TV was set up, they rarely or never add more apps

This trend is likely to accelerate in the future:  79% say that when buying a new TV, they prefer to buy one with the same operating system as their existing set, only further entrenching that OS in which shows and apps they find out about and ultimately use, the researchers reported. 

 These findings are from Hub’s “Evolution of the TV Set 2024” report, based on a survey conducted among 2,517 US consumers ages 16-74. Interviews were conducted in May 2024 and cover consumer ownership of, and attitudes towards, TV sets and TV-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.

DALLAS—New data released by Parks Associates during CES2024 shows that consumers are connecting a record number of devices in their homes to the internet, with the average number of connected devices per U.S. internet household reaching 17 in Q3 2023.

Park’s Consumer Electronics Dashboard, an ongoing service that visualizes the most important metrics for consumer electronics (CE) devices in the home, also found that for the first time, smartphone ownership surpassed TV ownership, with 90% of households reporting ownership of a smartphone compared to 88% with a TV. The research also found that 92% of US households have fixed or wireless internet service at home. 

"Smartphones are ubiquitous now, and connected consumer electronics such as wireless earbuds, tablets, and smart TVs are commonplace," said Sarah Lee, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. "Today, these devices are essential for entertainment purposes and daily personal communications, which can include school, work, and family. This necessity drives continued purchases, as every year CE companies roll out innovative and advanced models that drive the consumer desire to upgrade."

Parks also found that among US internet households:

• 89% have a streaming video service
• 66% have a smart TV
• 42% have at least one smart home device
• 31% have a security system
• 39% have a smart watch

The research also found that consumer spending continues to show remarkable resilience. After a brief pause early in 2023, consumers' enthusiasm for consumer electronics products rebounded at the end of the year. Purchase intentions for popular entertainment devices such as gaming consoles, streaming media players, and VR headsets have increased compared to 2022 and now resemble 2021 levels, which was the height of the pandemic.

"Economic conditions and fear of a recession previously stalled purchases of CE categories," Lee said. "But higher intentions to purchase are likely a reflection of prolonged delayed gratification, the end-of-year holiday season, enticing retail promotions, and hope for continued economic improvement in 2024."

Inscape, a major provider of currency-grade smart TV data from millions of Vizio TVs, has announced they are expanding measurement coverage of local stations by tapping directly into tuners built into Smart TVs.

The new solution will significantly increase Inscape’s coverage to thousands of local stations and offer local TV stations a big data source for over-the-air viewing spanning all stations and markets., the company said.

The launch comes at a time when cord cutting has made the measurement of over-the-air signals more important than ever. Currently about 18% of TV households report having a digital antenna and watching TV over the air., Inscape reported.

Both Comscore and Videoamp are adding the data to their measurement solutions.

“For Comscore, having multiple sources of data capture is a key component of our TV measurement approach, which spans across all 210 local markets. Incorporating Smart TV Tuner Data from Inscape gives Comscore additional views into local station viewing behaviors, enabling us to better serve our clients with the most precise measurement,” said David Algranati, chief innovation officer, Comscore.

“By unlocking the potential of local TV in this game-changing way and bringing the full power of big data to OTA signals, clients and the industry as a whole will now have a critical entrypoint to previously unfeasible attribution of local TV content,” said Charbel Makhoul, vice president of product management, data science and analytics at Vizio/Inscape.

“We’re excited that Inscape is bringing the scale and representativeness from its 22+ million opt-in Smart TV homes to local,” said Josh Chasin, former chief measurability officer, VideoAmp. “In doing so, the entire local marketplace will now have access to the highest fidelity data in order to capitalize on the growth potential that CTV brings to the space. Local TV, and especially over the air (OTA) digital broadcast, is one of the most robust spaces in the video ecosystem. We’re thrilled that Inscape is proactively supporting the measurement of this vital piece of the video pie.”

The company said that Inscape’s Tuner Data will help address the longstanding challenge of measuring viewers and developing accurate audience insights regarding the viewing of local Over-the-Air (OTA) TV signals. The Tuner Data will help overcome this blindspot by creating an industry-wide solution for local TV markets regardless of size, the company said.

More specifically, the new solution builds on Inscape’s ACR technology that is always running to identify content and commercials on the TV screen. The new Tuner Data will layer on additional data points collected directly from built-in televisions tuners to supplement exposure signals for smaller markets. This also marks a major step forward in accurately capturing the audiences of smaller subnets, Inscape said,

MONTVALE, N.J.—Sharp Home Electronics Company of America has reentered the U.S. TV market by launching a new lineup of Sharp Roku TV OLED 4K UHD with HDR10 and LCD 4K UHD TVs.

The OLED models also feature the AQUOS TV sub-branding name that is associated with cutting-edge technology and quality, the company said. 

The Sharp Roku TV OLED 4K Ultra HD with HDR10 TV models are the first OLED televisions in the world to feature the Roku experience and operating system.  Available in 55" Class (54.5" Diag.) and 65" Class (64.5" Diag.) screen sizes, they also feature Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos technologies, Sharp reported. 

Sharp said its integration of the Roku TV streaming platform provides consumers with access to endless free, live, and trending TV with all the most popular apps and new features added automatically. Users are also able to control their Sharp Roku TV with the included voice remote and the Roku mobile app. Sharp Roku TV models are compatible with Apple AirPlay, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home devices for a unified smart home environment.

"We are pleased to be working with Roku to support our return to a US market as competitive as televisions," said Jim Sanduski, president of Sharp Home Electronics Company of America. "The immersive experience of our AQUOS OLED panel means our consumers will truly enjoy their Sharp Roku TV set to its fullest potential with the rich library of entertainment options and original content that Roku brings to our customers."

Sharp explained that the Sharp AQUOS OLED 4K UHD TVs boasts include these features:

• Dolby Vision IQ extends Dolby's HDR technology to improve the picture performance of Dolby Vision content according to the room's ambient light.
• High Dynamic Range (HDR10), a set of video encoding standards that makes colors vivid and maximizes contrast while minimizing the loss of data in bright or dark areas.
• Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG), an HDR format that improves color reproduction and contrast for digital video broadcasting.
• The 30W (15W+15W) Speaker System and Dolby Atmos delivers an incredible depth of sound, clarity, and details for an experience you can feel all around you, even at lower volume settings.:
• Combined with a native 120Hz panel, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) across all 4 HDMI inputs, enables the TV to adjust its refresh rate automatically in real-time to match the frame rate outputted by a video game console or PC.
• Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) switches off all motion processing features to minimize latency.

"We're excited to be a part of Sharp's return to the US television market at this pivotal time in the evolution of smart TV technology," said Tom McFarland, vice president of business development at Roku. "This provides a wonderful opportunity for customers to experience the stunning audiovisual capabilities of a Sharp OLED TV with Roku, America's #1 TV streaming platform, built in."

"We know consumers turn on televisions to experience their dreams across a variety of content," added Peter Weedfald, senior vice president of sales & marketing for Sharp Home Electronics Company of America.  "America's first Sharp Roku TV OLED 4K Ultra HD with HDR10 TVs with the full Roku TV experience built in smartly features both Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos technologies which truly makes your family's entertainment dreams come true."

Visit shop.sharpusa.com for more information on pricing and availability.

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.—During the webOS Partner Summit 2023, LG Electronics has outlined its plans to become what it is calling “a media and entertainment platform company” and laid out some of the first steps in that transformation, which include significant investments in its webOS platform and smart TV operating system. 

The company noted that since its launch on LG Smart TVs in 2014, webOS has become one of the most widely used smart TV platforms in the world. Beyond the 200 million LG TVs worldwide, webOS is now supporting several third-party TV brands in multiple markets. 

Moving forward, LG plans to extend webOS to more third-party TV companies and expand the platform to other product categories. Within 3 years, LG expects to have over 300 million webOS-powered devices, the company said.

"LG is poised to transform into a media and entertainment platform company that delivers distinctive content and services that will enhance the lives of its customers," said Park Hyoung-sei, president of the LG Home Entertainment Company, speaking at webOS Partner Summit 2023. "This transformation would not be possible without LG's decade of OLED TV leadership and the technological innovation of the webOS smart TV platform."

LG has already applied its platform webOS to a range of categories, including projectors, digital signage, and in-vehicle infotainment systems, LG reported. 

Moreover, the number of third-party partner brands that have embraced webOS Hub, the webOS solution for third-party brands, has grown substantially, increasing from 20 just two years ago to over 300 today, LG said. 

During that time, webOS Hub has undergone meaningful upgrades with the variety of content on offer expanding to include cloud gaming and OTT services, and new features arriving to enhance convenience and the overall user experience. Additionally, some of LG's partner TV brands have now introduced their own OLED TVs powered by webOS Hub.

As part of its strategy to expand the webOS platform ecosystem, LG acquired a majority stake of the U.S. advertising/content data analysis specialist, Alphonso, in 2021. Alphonso established subsidiaries in the U.K. and Greece last year, accelerating the global growth of its content service.

LG also said that it is set to make a substantial investment of KRW 1 trillion ($754,438,400) in its webOS business over the next five years in order to provide more content and services that cater to the diverse lifestyles and preferences of consumers. By boosting its competitiveness in content and services, LG believes it will further elevate the webOS user experience.

LG said that its strategic investment will be focused on broadening the range of content available via the webOS platform, boosting usability by innovating the UI and UX, and strengthening partnerships with content production companies on a global scale. 

To date, LG has worked with its partners to bring new technologies to the platform, for gamers, sports fans or Gen Z users. Such is the integration of Sye, a Prime Video proprietary, low latency technology that will benefit LG customers who are fans of live streaming sports like Thursday Night Football. LG TVs deliver Netflix HDR streaming and have just opened the beta release for Netflix Games on TV and with the launch of the lifestyle screens for Gen Z the company worked with YouTube to make a Native Touch UX available for the app on models such as StanbyME.

LG is also strengthening innovation in the area of AI-based search and recommendations. The company plans to incorporate a voice user interface (VUI) feature into partner companies' apps, which will let webOS users easily control and navigate third-party content services with their voice, and enable swift and seamless content discovery.

Service usability will likewise be enhanced. LG Channels 3.0, LG's premium, free streaming service, boasts a growing selection of TV series and has a revamped UI that allows users to view more content options, including live channels and movies, on the screen, reducing the need to scroll. And thanks to the new UI, users can now easily explore what's on other channels without having to pause or navigate away from what they're watching.

Available in 27 countries worldwide, LG Channels currently offers over 3,000 channels and has over 50 million subscribers as of March 2023. In 2022 alone, the number of unique devices on which LG Channels was used increased by 75 percent, while viewing time rose by 57 percent, and usage-frequency surged to make the service one of the top-five most-accessed apps on the webOS platform.

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.—LG Electronics has introduced LG Channels 3.0, the latest version of its exclusive, free streaming service. Featuring a new UI with improved navigation, more engaging placements for content discovery, and an enhanced channel guide, the upgrade will make it easier for users to discover the content that resonates with them, the company said. 

LG Channels 3.0 is rolling out in South Korea this month and will arrive in other markets, including the US, starting in October.

Reflecting the main content consumption patterns of LG Channels' users, LG said that the new UI is organized into three pages – Home, Live and On Demand– that makes it easier to take advantage of the different services offered on LG's free content platform.

The Home page features a large, highly visible rotating carousel at the top of the screen to provide easy access to featured channels, curated collections and premium On Demand content. 

From the Live page, they can now play live broadcast channels directly from within the LG Channels app. Additionally, the new channel guide covers only half of the screen, allowing users to see what's on and choose what to watch next while continuing to watch their current viewing choice, LG said. 

The On Demand tab allows users to select their favorite types of content including movies, TV shows and receive recommendations from the Popular Now category ensuring a smooth binge-watching experience.

BOSTON—A new survey focusing on changes in smart TV usage has found some obvious trends—the use of smart TVs for video streaming continues to grow—as well as some less obvious developments—streaming music and audio have emerged as a very popular application on smart TVs. 

The fifth annual edition of Hub Entertainment Research’s “Evolution of the TV Set” study found that more consumers are using the built-in connectivity of smart TVs to watch video (about 64% now stream video on their smart TVs) and that half of smart TV owners say they use their set for streaming music or other audio content.

The study also found that smart TVs are the home base for viewing, with three quarters (74%) of TV homes now reporting that they own a smart TV, up from 61% in 2020.

More dramatic growth can be found in the fact that nearly two thirds (64%) of all TV homes report using a smart TV to stream video, compared with fewer than half (47%) in 2020.

The dual increase in ownership and usage for viewing is a clear signal smart TVs are gaining traction, and gradually replacing separate streaming devices like Roku or Fire TV sticks or boxes, the researchers said. 

 “The evolution of the TV set is making valuable new features available to viewers, whether it be better quality picture and sound, streaming, apps, or voice control,” said David Tice, senior consultant to Hub and co-author of the study. “This also means challenges to incumbent firms in the TV ecosystem as alternative content providers, advertising sellers, and gatekeepers dramatically increase their presence through the growth of smart TVs.”

The survey also found that voice command is taking control: Half of respondents (52%) say the TV set they use most often has a remote control with voice command capability, up from only 38% in 2020.

In addition, in homes with a smart TV, a third (30%) of respondents have linked their smart TV to a smart speaker to enable voice control – up from 25% in 2020, the Hub study found. 

The researchers also stressed that Smart TVs are becoming the hub of home entertainment and a wider range of activities other than watching TV. This year, 3 in 4 smart TV owners (77%) say they use their set for more than just watching TV or movies (up from 6 in 10 [63%] in 2020.)

The most popular non-TV feature on smart TVs is streaming music or other audio content:  49% say they have used their smart TV for this, almost doubling since 2020.

The second most used feature is casting or mirroring another device’s screen on the smart TV.  Over a third (38%) of smart TV owners said they have done this in 2023 – almost tripling since our 2020 wave, the study found. 

These findings are from Hub’s “Evolution of the TV Set 2023” report, based on a survey conducted among 2,504 US consumers. Interviews were conducted in May 2023 and cover consumer ownership of, and attitudes towards, TV sets and TV-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.

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.

IRVINE, Calif.—Vizio and AMC Networks have inked a deal that will expand AMC’s channels on Vizio smart TV by adding the AMC+ app, nine free streaming channels and over 150 on-demand feature films to Vizio’s free streaming service, WatchFree+.

New AMC Networks’ channels include Portlandia, MSG Sports Zone, AMC en Espanol, Allblk Gems and Overtime along with more than 150 AMC on demand feature films.

The new agreement builds on AMC’s free streaming channels already available on Vizio’s WatchFree+ streaming service, including All Reality WE tv, AMC Thrillers, IFC Films Picks and The Walking Dead Universe.

Vizio users who subscribe to the AMC+ premium subscription service can enjoy popular series titles from AMC’s award-winning library like “Dark Winds”, “Gangs of London”, “Happy Valley” and the recent premiere of “Lucky Hank”. 

“AMC and Vizio have been working together for several years to bring audiences the best in entertainment. The expansion of our partnership is based on user engagement with existing FAST and AVOD AMC programming as well as viewer response to the recent addition of AMC+ to our premium app library,” says Katherine Pond, group vice president, platform content and partnerships at Vizio. “Our expanded agreement means Vizio users can access an even wider range of AMC’s library of critically acclaimed original titles - enjoying more of what they love, all in one place.”

Currently Vizio users can easily subscribe to AMC+ from the Vizio home screen. In the coming months, users will be able to subscribe using their Vizio Account, a feature that allows users to manage subscriptions and redeem special offers in one place.

"This is an exciting expansion of our relationship with Vizio, which will make even more of our acclaimed and popular programming available to Vizio audiences including, for the first time, the addition of nine of our curated FAST channels," said Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer of AMC Networks. "As we continue to build a new programming universe and franchise around the iconic works of Anne Rice, and bring exciting new stories from the world of The Walking Dead and other new original series to millions of passionate fans, we value our partnership with Vizio to connect our high-quality and popular original programming with viewers as part of our robust and growing distribution ecosystem."

SEATTLE—Amazon has surpassed a significant sales milestone for its Amazon Fire TV products, with more than 200 million Fire TV devices sold globally, as it announced a notable expansion of its Amazon-built TV family of smart TVs. 

The Amazon-built TV lineup will now include three new sizes of the Fire TV Omni QLED Series lineup, which includes the Fire TV Ambient Experience. 

In addition it is introducing the affordable Fire TV 2-Series which starts at just $199.99 and is launching its Amazon-built TVs in more countries, bringing the Omni QLED Series, Fire TV 4-Series, and the new Fire TV 2-Series to the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico for the first time.

“We continue to hear from customers that most smart TVs just aren’t all that smart—and they’re turning to Fire TV to deliver a truly intelligent and intuitive TV experience,” said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. “With over 200 million streaming players and smart TVs sold globally, our relentless focus on making TVs actually smart is resonating with customers around the world. In fact, televisions are the fastest growing segment in the Fire TV business. When customers love something, we double down. We’re excited to not only bring our Fire TV Ambient Experience to more rooms of the home with multiple new screen sizes of the Omni QLED Series, but also to enable customers to get a Fire TV smart TV for as low as $199.99 with the new 2-Series. We can’t wait to hear what customers think.”

Amazon announced that its Fire TV Omni QLED Series—with the Fire TV Ambient Experience—will now be available in three new sizes: 43”, 50”, and 55”. With new smaller sizes, customers can enjoy the Ambient Experience in any space, in any room. The Omni QLED features a 4K Quantum Dot Technology (QLED) display with full-array local dimming of up to 96 zones, plus support for both Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive providing an immersive, cinematic experience. The lineup also features built-in far-field technology, enabling customers to find apps, discover shows, manage playback, and control the Ambient Experience hands-free with Alexa from anywhere in the room.

In addition Amazon is introducing the Omni QLED’s Fire TV Ambient Experience that transforms the TV into an always-smart device. When not streaming, the Omni QLED Series uses built-in presence sensors to detect when a person enters the room to intelligently switch to the Ambient Experience, which uses the power of Alexa to display helpful information. With the Ambient Experience, customers can see glanceable information like their schedule with Calendars and Reminders, leave Sticky Notes for family members, control smart devices like a thermostat or Ring doorbell, play audio from services like Amazon Music, Spotify, and others—and much more.

With no monthly subscription required, the Omni QLED Series can also turn the TV into an in-home art gallery, Amazon reported, with its collection of more than1,700 free gallery-quality pieces of artwork. The collection has been expanded from famous institutions like The National Gallery of Art and The Art Institute of Chicago to include pieces from the National Galleries of Scotland, National Museum of Wales, Munich’s Pinakothek of the Modern, and more.

The new Fire TV 2-Series have prices starting at just $199.99, Amazon also noted. The all-new Fire TV 2-Series features 32” and 40” sizes, designed for all rooms and sizes like the family room, kitchen, or bedroom. The Fire TV 2-Series 32” brings movies and shows to life in HD resolution, while the Fire TV 2-Series 40” offers enhanced clarity and detail with FHD. 

The Fire TV 2-Series lineup includes support for HDR 10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Audio and are available on March 22. 

In terms of accessibility, Amazon reported that Fire TV supports the open-source Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) protocol. In 2022, the Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen) became the first-ever streaming media player in the United States to support ASHA through a collaboration with hearing aid company Starkey. 

Less than a year later, Fire TV streaming media players and smart TVs became the first streaming TV devices to stream sound directly to a hearing implant sound processor through Fire TV’s work with Cochlear, the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. 

In addition, the Fire TV Omni QLED Series, Fire TV 4-Series, and Fire TV 2-Series support ASHA. 

Customers with compatible Starkey Bluetooth hearing aids or Cochlear hearing implant sound processors can connect directly with these Amazon-built TVs to enjoy audio from their favorite streaming apps, use Alexa, listen to music, hear navigational sounds, and more. 

The new Fire TV Omni QLED Series 43”, 50”, and 55” sizes are available for pre-order on March 22 starting at $449.99 at Amazon and will be available for purchase at BestBuy.com starting May 11th. The brand-new Fire TV 2-Series will be available in 32” and 40” starting at $199.99 at Amazon starting March 22. 

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Xperi’s TiVo subsidiary and European TV manufacturer Vestel have announced a multi-year, multi-country and multi-million-unit agreement to create the first "Powered by TiVo" smart TVs. 

The new TV are expected to ship as early as spring 2023 featuring chipsets from MediaTek, a global fabless semiconductor company. The TVs will be sold to consumers in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey under such brands as Vestel, Daewoo, Regal, Hitachi, Telefunken and JVC.

During IFA 2022, Xperi announced the launch of its independent media platform and selected Vestel as its first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner. 

Vestel will be utilizing the new TiVo OS that provides OEMs significantly more control over the user experience to drive brand awareness, engagement and monetization at scale. 

"At Xperi, we have built a platform that can deliver better viewer engagement with an unbiased, content-first user experience, where Live Hybrid TV and streaming services fully integrate in a personalized way that makes it easy to find, watch and enjoy content across siloed ecosystems," said Jon Kirchner, chief executive officer, Xperi. "Unlike existing platforms, which are largely built around walled gardens, we enable TV OEMs to brand the experience, retain customer ownership and participate in the long-term CTV monetization throughout the lifecycle of TV ownership. We are pleased to partner with Vestel to bring smart TVs to market that enable consumers to cut through the clutter of streaming and linear content options with a simplified, universal discovery."

"As the number of available video services continues to increase, content discovery remains a top pain point for consumers when searching across different video content services," said Turan Erdoğan, chief executive officer, Vestel. "We're excited to partner with a company that shares our customer first values and to introduce our new line of Powered by TiVo smart TVs to provide consumers the experience they want."

TiVo OS will incorporate TiVo+, a free content network that provides consumers access to more than 160+ free channels and 100,000 hours' worth of content. 

The company also announced that it will add Stingray to the content lineup now available on a global basis for TiVo OS and beyond - adding 26 channels from Stingray to the TiVo+ content network.

"Stingray is very pleased to be a launch partner with TiVo and Vestel as part of this dynamic platform. The breakthrough TiVo user experience makes our premium music and lifestyle content more accessible to our viewers. Discovery has never been simpler, and recommendations put the right content in front of the right audience," said David Purdy, chief revenue officer of Stingray. "In a world of increased streaming services, TiVo delivers content in a personal way to consumers so the experience is about what they like and what they will discover next." 

LAS VEGAS—LG Electronics has unveiled its lineup of 2023 TV models, headlined by enhanced OLED TV models that will be featured here when the 2023 CES Show opens Jan. 5. 

The new OLED models feature self-lit picture quality, powerful image processing technologies and an enhanced webOS platform with more smart features and services. Missing from the press announcement of new models was mention of support for ATSC 3.0 or NextGen TV.

LG’s self-lit OLED technology has made it possible for the company to offer remarkable television form factors, including the rollable LG Signature OLED R and the bendable LG OLED Flex. New this year to its lineup of OLED TVs are the upgraded Z3, G3 and C3 OLED evo series. The models offers higher brightness and color accuracy in addition to clarity and detail made possible by OLED evo technology and its new α9 AI Processor Gen6, the company said.

The processor relies on the company’s most sophisticated AI-assisted Deep Learning tech to ensure high-quality images and sound. AI Picture Pro offers improved upscaling and enhanced dynamic tone mapping. It also offers picture processing that detects and refines important images, such as faces, to give them a more lifelike HDR quality, it said.

The processor leverages AI to enable delivery of virtual 9.1.2 surround sound from the TV’s built-in speaker system, LG said.

This year’s edition of the OLED evo G3 series offers LG’s Brightness Booster Max technology, offering new light control architecture and light-boosting algorithms to increase brightness by up to 70%. Brightness is mapped and controlled on a pixel-by-pixel basis, it said.

The 2023 G3 OLED evo models also offer an aesthetic upgrade with the introduction of the ultra-seamless One Wall Design, which leaves no gap when wall-mounted, it said.

The company’s latest version of webOS has a redesigned user interface offering a variety of personalization options. The Quick Cards feature gives users easy access to the content and service they use most. The company is further enhancing personalization with AI Concierge, which offers each user a curated list of content choices based on past usage and searches. It also provides a selection of trending content to browse, it said.

The new OLED models are also HDMI 2.1a-compliant and are certified by HDMI for the recently announced Quick Media Switching VRR (QMS-VRR), which eliminates the momentary black screen that can occur when switching between content being played from different source devices that are connected via a TV’s HDMI 2.1a-compliant ports, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

NEW YORK—After topping 1 billion for the first time in 2021, a new S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis is predicting that total connected video devices in the U.S. will top 1.1 billion by 2026 and that the number of smart TVs will grow from 208.5 million in 2022 to 224.8 million in 2023 and 274.2 million by 2026. 

The data highlights just how much U.S. consumers have embraced the streaming revolution, with the U.S. installed base for internet-connected video devices on course to rise at a 2.3% compound annual growth rate from 2021 through 2026, according to a new S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis released ahead of the holiday shopping season.

But the forecast anticipates a relatively stable 8.5 devices per broadband household throughout the forecast, indicating that homes have reached a saturation point for streaming video devices, the researcher noted.

The report also predicts that the installed base for streaming media players will decline from 37.6 million in 2022 to 24.3 million but that streaming media sticks installed in U.S. homes will increase from 78.4 million in 2022 to 103.2 million in 2026. 

Other key highlights include: 

• Of the devices in the analysis, smart TVs have the highest growth potential as vendors and end users recognize the increasingly central role streaming apps play in the way people consume content.
• Subscription services have served the streaming video segment well so far, but the wide device universe outlined in this report indicates there is a path to further monetization through ad-supported models.

NEW YORK—A new report from Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence, is forecasting that the global TV market is forecast to show signs of recovery in 2022 and beyond, thanks largely to improvements in the supply of large LCD panels, which was the primary obstacle manufacturers struggled with in 2021.

Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of residential broadband penetration is opening up the addressable smart TV market, driving smart TV penetration in the total TV market.

Kagan is predicting that global smart TV shipments are estimated to grow 1.9% year over year (y/y) to 153.0 million units by the end of 2022 with a forecast of 2.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 to 2026.

Despite a weak first quarter for global smart TV shipments, declining panel prices and the coming World Cup in November 2022 are expected to overcome the negative effects of inflation to spark consumer demand by the end of 2022, the researchers said. 

Supply shortages are still an issue for some components used in the assembly of LCD panels—especially those based on mature process technologies—but the overall supply for TV displays is slowly improving.

However, Kagan warned that the potential of a global recession, along with the continuing macroeconomic stress produced by many factors, including the conflict in Eastern Europe, could derail forecast growth.

The analysis only covers TV sets used for home entertainment, excluding commercial TV sets used in the hospitality industry as well as those used in public spaces and offices.

BOSTON, Mass.—Consumers continue to rapidly embrace advanced TV technologies, which in turn is transforming both viewer habits and the business opportunities for content providers and advertisers, according to Hub Entertainment Research’s fourth annual “Evolution of the TV Set” study. 

One notable finding of the survey and report is that the speed with which consumers are turning to streaming using smart TVs continues to impress. Almost two thirds (62%) of TV homes report streaming using a smart TV, compared with less than half (47%) two years ago, the Hub survey found. This rapid increase is driven by increases in both smart TV homes and in the share of those homes using smart TVs to stream.

Another technology being rapidly adopted is voice control. Half (51%) of the most-used sets in U.S. homes have a remote control with voice command capability – up notably since 2020 (38%), Hub reported. 

In homes with a smart TV, one in three (33%) linked a smart TV to a smart speaker like Amazon’s Echo or Google’s Nest, enabling voice control – up a third from 2020 (25%).

Another notable trend is the use of TV sets for activities other than viewing TV programs or movies. In smart TV homes, 7 in 10 (73%) say they use a set for something else – up from 6 in 10 (63%) in 2020, Hub found. 

The most popular non-TV activities on smart TVs are streaming music, mirroring or casting another screen to the set, checking news or weather apps, or using an on-set browser. 

“Streaming on smart TV sets has grabbed the spotlight, but don’t forget other ways TVs have evolved,” said David Tice, senior consultant to Hub and co-author of the study. “With the TV itself becoming an advertising platform, changes in user behaviors from set evolution can impact marketing opportunities, exposure, and effectiveness.”

The findings are from Hub’s “Evolution of the TV Set 2022” report, based on a survey conducted among 2,526 US consumers. Interviews were conducted in May 2022 and cover consumer ownership of, and attitudes towards, TV sets and TV-related technologies.  

A free excerpt of the findings is available on Hub’s website. 

NEW YORK—The pandemic fueled surge in demand for smart TVs cooled in Q1 2022, as the overall demand for smart TVs fell to down to pre-pandemic levels, producing a 9.2% year-over-year decline in total smart TV shipments in Q1 2022, according to Kagan, a media research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.

At the same time, a shift in product mix—with most vendors increasing the proportion of high-margin premium products in response to component shortages—raised the average selling price, or ASP, by 21% year over year to an estimated $496. 

While the price jump contributed to the shipment decline, Kagan is still reporting a 10% growth in smart TV revenues in Q1 2022 to $16.63 billion.

Other key highlights of the new Kagan report include: 

• Despite declining smart TV shipments, pockets of growth remained among emerging markets, fueling growth for young brands like Xiaomi and TCL. Both Chinese companies are growing at least twice as fast as the more well-known Korean and Japanese brands with 19% and 27% respective y/y installed base growth in Q1 2022.
• With its head start in smart TV shipments and solid shipment volumes for the past seven years, Samsung's Tizen-based Smart Hub maintains the largest OS installed base worldwide with an estimated 23.1% share. Alphabet's Android TV is close to overtake LG's WebOS to be the second-largest smart TV platform by footprint.
• Smart TV revenue continued to rise in recent quarters driven by component cost increases that were passed on to unit ASPs, offsetting shipment volume declines.
• While demand in the premium space is relatively stable regardless of price, the same cannot be said about the low-end and mid-range markets where competition on price remains stiff, keeping overall ASPs from going completely out of control.
• While temporary boom-and-bust cycles in demand can have significant impact on near-term results, gradual smart TV adoption in emerging markets will have a greater impact on overall shipment volumes and revenue in the long run, Kagan reported.

“Competitively priced models from the Chinese TV makers have become attractive options compared to more traditional brands, as smart TV adoption gradually grows among emerging markets like India, Latin America and the Asia Pacific,” explained Milan Ringol, research associate at Kagan, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence

Kagan's quarterly global smart TV estimates of unit shipments, revenue, average selling prices, and installed base with vendor and OS breakouts are built upon analysis of publicly available industry reports and proprietary data models. 

The analysis only includes TV sets used for home entertainment, excluding commercial sets used, for instance, in the hospitality industry and in public spaces and offices. Revenue estimates include only unit sales and not revenue generated from smart TV usage through ads, platform fees, or the like.

BOSTON, Mass.—Smart TV ownership, which has played a central role in the growth of streaming media, continues to rise dramatically, according to Hub Entertainment Research’s fourth annual “Connected Home” study.

The study reported that three quarters (76%) of TV households say they own a smart TV, up from 70% a year ago and the majority (57%) of all TV sets are now smart sets, a proportion a quarter higher than in 2020 (45%).

That is also fueling dramatic changes in the way viewers access video. In the past, many smart TVs were operated as “dumb” sets – owners plugged them into cable boxes or external streaming devices, bypassing their built-in smart capabilities. 

But in 2022, more than four in five (86%) smart TV homes regularly streamed shows through a smart TV’s built-in capability. That’s a significant increase over 2020 (75%), though a notable segment (14%, or 1 in 7) of smart TV homes aren’t yet using those sets to stream TV or movies.

Consumer’s embrace of smart TVs are part of a larger shift towards smart devices in the home. 

Hub also reported that 52% of all homes own a smart speaker (Amazon Echo, Google Nest, etc.) and 48% own at least one smart home device like a smart thermostat, smart doorbell, smart lightbulb, etc.)

“Growth in smart TV viewing over the past few years has been supercharged not just by more smart TVs, but greatly increased use of smart TV apps for streaming,” said David Tice, senior consultant to Hub and co-author of the study. “It has been a long road to get a large majority of smart TV owners to use those sets for streaming. This is a theme for smart tech overall: it’s not just getting devices into homes, but how can stakeholders get consumers to use the full capabilities of smart devices?”

Hub’s “Connected Home 2022” report was based on a survey conducted among 5,204 US consumers. Interviews were conducted in February 2022 and cover consumer ownership of many types of media-related technologies.  A free excerpt of the findings is available on Hub’s website.

DALLAS—Fifty-five percent of U.S. broadband homes now own a smart TV, driving the television to become the default platform to watch streaming content, according to a new white paper from Parks Associates. 

The paper, “OTT Streaming Trends to Watch in 2022,” lays out insights into the market, anticipated trends and market shifts this year based on the findings of the firm’s entertainment research team.

(Parks is also hosting “Video Services: Bundles, Data and Measuring Success,” a virtual session as part of its fifth annual “Future of Video: OTT, Pay TV and Digital Media.)

"Rapid changes in the market over the past two years, combined with continually shifting customer preferences, have forced service and device suppliers to adjust and adapt on an almost daily basis," said Eric Sorensen, senior contributing analyst at Parks Associates. 

"The standard in service now is to deliver desirable content so that consumers can view it when, where and how they want it. Service providers, both conventional and online, will have to continue to adjust as consumer demands continue to evolve."

In 2022, smart TVs should cement their position as the default connected streaming platform, the firm said.

Consumers are increasingly interested in having all their entertainment available on a single device, and as smart TVs have become more affordable and offer improved user interfaces (UIs), they become an attractive integrated option for viewing all content, according to Parks Associates.

Churn will also become more commonplace and accepted as part of doing business this year, it said.

"We also expect the traditional business models for movie windowing releases to erode more in 2022," Sorensen said. "The box office will regain some of its strength, as 'experience' releases like sci-fi and action-adventure will continue to draw people to the theater, but for many films, movie studios generally benefit from bypassing exclusivity and releasing through multiple channels, including theaters and direct-to-consumer. In 2022, we will see more of this hybrid windowing strategy and experimentation."

More information about the white paper is available on the research firm’s website.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Roku announced that for the second year in a row, the Roku Operating System (OS) was the number one smart TV OS sold in the U.S., citing NPD’s Weekly Retail Tracking Service data for January 3, 2021 through December 4, 2021.

Roku also announced that the company is hoping to build on that with a partnership with Sharp to bring a series of HD and 4K Sharp Roku TV models to customers in the United States in 2022. 

Sharp Roku TV models will come integrated with Roku OS, offering a customizable home screen, compatibility with the three major voice ecosystems and access to thousands of channels including over 200 live TV channels, the companies said. 

More details relating to availability and specs would be announced in the coming months. 

“Sharp, like Roku, is an award-winning, household known brand and we look forward to a productive partnership together in the US,” says Mustafa Ozgen, general manager and senior vice president of  account acquisitions at Roku. “We both firmly believe that the power and ease of use of Roku TV, combined with the Sharp brand promise of ‘simply better living’ makes an appealing combination for customers looking for a great TV experience.”

In addition, the Roku TV licensing program in Mexico will expand to include a total of ten brands, with the addition of Aiwa and HKPRO starting in early 2022, Roku announced.  

BANGALORE, India—Valuates Reports has issued new research projecting that the smart TV market will grow from $111.67B in 2020 to about $126.52 billion in 2027, a modest CAGR of 1.8% between 2021 and 2027.

The Smart TV market is being bolstered by steady increases in the use of streaming devices, as well as expanding internet penetration, the researchers reported. Improving living standards, decreases in smart TV prices, and increased disposable income of consumers are also pushing demand. 

Other important factors include rising demand for high-definition (HD) channels and video on demand (VOD) and the ability of smart TV to allow access to online interactive media, Internet TV, over-the-top content, on-demand streaming media, and home networking features. 

The COVID-19 has also increased demand for video on demand and over-the-top services, which in turn has boosted demand for smart TVs, the researchers said. 

Among the various smart TV segments, TVs with a 42-inch screen hold the largest share at about 29%.

Rising incomes and the expanding economies of India, China, and Japan, will mean that the Asia-Pacific region is expected to have a 40% share of the global market 2027.

More information on the report is available here. 

SEATTLE—In a notable development in the battle for market share in the smart TV landscape, Amazon’s first "built" smart TVs, the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series and Amazon Fire TV 4-Series, have gone on sale. 

Amazon also announced that the two lineups of TVs will soon support Apple Airplay 2 and HomeKit. 

The launch comes at a time when operators like Comcast are launching their own TVs and it highlights the fierce ongoing battle of smart TV operating systems and streaming device systems between Amazon, Roku, Google, Samsung, Apple, LG, Vizio and others. 

These proprietary operating systems help those players steer users to preferred content and produce massive amounts of data that can be used to boost revenues from ads, subscriptions and other services.  

Those added revenues are important given the low profit margins for TV manufacturers and a way of differentiating products in an already crowded smart TV sector. But ability of companies to control access to smart TVs has also produced some heated conflicts over content between players like YouTube, Roku, HBO Max and others. 

Both lines of Amazon’s new smart TVs compete directly with lower cost TV manufacturers, with the Amazon Fire TV 4 Series starting at $369.99. It is available in 43”, 50”, and 55” model sizes. The Omni Series starts at $409.99 and is available in 43”, 50”, 55”, 65”, and 75” model sizes.

The Fire TV Omni Series integrates the Fire TV experience and hands-free access to Alexa directly into the TV, providing an all-in-one entertainment device for streaming, cable TV, music, gaming, etc. It is available in screen sizes ranging from 43 to 75 inches. 

Fire TV Omni’s key features include support for 4K Ultra HD, HDR 10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus. The Omni 65” and 75” models support Dolby Vision and feature a slim bezel design.

It has three HDMI inputs to connect to set-top boxes, video game consoles, and more. HDMI eARC lets you add audio equipment like a soundbar for enhanced sound, which you can control through voice with Alexa. 

It also has Live View Picture-in-Picture; Video calling; and Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote.

Later this year, Fire TV will release an all-new smart home dashboard to control connected devices; Alexa shortcut panel for quick access to popular features; and a new beta Alexa experience that lets users ask for content recommendations.

The Fire TV 4-Series offers 4K UHD resolution with HDR10 and HLG for beautiful picture quality on 4K TV shows and movies. It features a fully-integrated Fire TV experience and supports many of the same Alexa experiences as the Fire TV Omni Series, which users can access by using the Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Samba TV, a provider of omniscreen advertising and analytics, has launched its Real-time TV Viewership Dashboard, an interactive TV analytics tool that provides users with geographic and demographic analysis of viewership in real-time. 

Samba TV has rolled out the tool to four of the largest media markets: the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Australia, with plans to expand it further in the future. 

The Dashboard draws on Samba TV’s automatic content recognition (ACR) technology that is integrated into 24 smart TV brands to provide the viewing information. It is free to users who register with the company. 

“The Olympics this year will underscore the importance of television and its unique ability to bring together billions of people in living rooms across the globe,” said Samba TV co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin. “Now more than ever, TV data is critical for the media industry desperate to understand the rapid changes in viewership behaviors pre-, mid-, and post-pandemic. In the spirit of using data to drive transparency in media and foster innovation in the viewing experience of TV, we are pleased to offer the industry this powerful tool at no cost to facilitate discussion and innovation.”

“Having been at the forefront of providing our clients the most innovative and scalable data, Samba TV’s Real-time TV Viewership Dashboard is an important resource for every global brand engaged in large-scale events like the Olympics,” added IPG Media Lab managing director Chad Stoller. “This interactive tool provides comprehensive and at-scale TV analysis, imperative to our industry where there have been historic challenges making decisions with real-time data.”

The Real-time TV Viewership Dashboard, available on Samba TV’s website, allows advertisers the ability to see what channels and shows are being watched in their city or country within seconds. The dashboard leverages the company’s proprietary automatic content recognition (ACR) technology to provide in-the-moment insight into viewership across markets. 

"In today’s more addressable, measurable media ecosystem, marketer needs have evolved – they want to buy TV advertising the way they transact digitally – more dynamic, more flexible, more informed by data, and importantly, optimized in real-time,” said Dentsu's Amplifi U.S. president Mike Law. "Audiences around the world will be tuning into the Olympics almost universally, and tools like Samba TV’s Real-time TV Viewership Dashboard can enable understanding that fuels in-campaign buying decisions like never before.”

Samba TV’s ACR technology, integrated at the chipset level across 24 Smart TV brands globally, identifies content that appears on the TV screen including TV shows, commercials, movies, and video games. With a global addressable footprint of 46 million devices, Samba TV enables advertisers, TV networks, and publishers to discover their TV audiences, amplify their marketing message across screens, and quantify the impact of their advertising.

For more information, visit https://www.samba.tv/business/real-time-tv-viewership.

BOSTON—It’s out with the old TVs and in with the smart TVs, according to a new report from Hub Entertainment Research. Hub found that more than half of all TV sets are now smart TVs, representing the majority for the first time.

Included in Hub’s “Connected Home” report, it was shown that 52% of all TVs are now smart TVs, up from 45% in 2020. This shows that older, non-smart TVs are more rapidly being replaced, per Hub.

Seven out of 10 U.S. TV households reported that they owned a smart TV. The younger generation is more likely to own a smart TV, with 61% of homes where the oldest person is under 35 reported owning one, as did 59% of homes with children under age 18.

The smart TVs that people are buying are more increasingly featuring built-in operating systems from streaming providers Roku or Amazon Fire TV; more than two in five households say they have one of these kind of smart TV sets. Roku and Fire TV penetration is greater when you factor in a separate streaming device, as 57% of TV homes have such a device or a Roku/Fire TV set.

“The wider adoption of smart TVs and replacement of non-smart TVs turns up the pressure on connected devices like streaming boxes, streaming sticks and video game consoles,” said David Tice, senior consultant to Hub and co-author of the study. “This ‘eliminating of the middleman’ will have a direct impact on how future revenue is split on advanced TV businesses like streaming, interactive shopping, and addressable advertising.”

Overall, streaming to a TV set has increased from 74% in 2020 to 77% of all homes as per this most recent report. More than half (56%) of all homes say they stream using a smart TV at least once a month, up from the 48% that did so in 2020.

The way people are buying their new TV sets is also changing, in large part due to the pandemic. In 2019, 42% of consumers said they would buy a new TV set in a store, while 27% planned to do so online. Those numbers have essentially flipped; 29% plan to buy a new TV at the store, with 43% buying online.

For more information, visit Hub’s website.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google’s latest advancement for the TV industry, Google TV, is allowing users to take things back to simpler times with a new “Basic TV” feature.

According to 9to5Google, the first smart TVs running Google TV (which have not yet hit the market) will come with a Basic TV option that remove smart features from the TV. Elements like apps, content recommendations, casting support and Google Assistant will be stripped, with only HDMI inputs and live TV available.

Users who opt for the Basic TV feature will have the ability to switch back to full Google TV capability at any time.

A Google spokesperson told 9to5Google that the feature is designed primarily for users who lack internet access, but it can also be handy as smart TV features become out of date or for people who prefer a “dumb TV” experience.

For more information, read 9to5Google’s full story. 

NEW YORK—Samsung has maintained, and even grown, its position as the top provider of smart TVs in the U.S., according to the latest report from Statista. According to Statista, Samsung holds a 32% share of the smart TV marketplace.

That 32% is up from 31% in 2019. Samsung has had or has nearly had a third of the market since 2017, per Statista.

The next closest company behind Samsung is Alcatel/TCL, which makes up 14% of the market. Vizio, at 13%, rounds out the top three. This is the first time that the Chinese manufacturer TCL has surpassed Vizion.

For more information, visit Statista’s website. 

NEW YORK—Samsung TV Plus users can now get in on some sports betting action, as the first 24-hour network for sports wagering, SportsGrid, has launched on Samsung’s free smart TV video service.

SportsGrid carries live and original programming with a team of on-air personalities, expert hosts and guest analysts, as well as offering the opportunity for real-time sports wagering. The network offers reporting on daily odds, matchups, injury reports, news and more across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college sports, golf, tennis and soccer.

Among the network’s lineup is “The Pat McAfee Show” with former NFL punter, comedian and analyst Pat McAfee; “Ferrall Coast to Coast” hosted by Scott Ferrall previewing upcoming games; and “Game Time Decisions” with Gabe Morency and Cam Stewart that goes over breaking news, real-time data and offers expert commentary.

SportsGrid is produced live from TV production facilities in New York City and at the Meadowlands in New Jersey inside the FanDuel Sportsbook.

SportsGrid is available to Samsung TV Plus users with 2016-2020 Samsung smart TVs for free on channel 1160.

For more information, visit www.samsungtvplus.com.  

ADDISON, Texas—Smart TVs have firmly established their place in the American household, as Parks Associates shares that 54% of U.S. broadband homes own at least one smart TV.

This was one of the findings from a new Parks Associates white paper developed in cooperation with Applicaster. “Optimizing the Smart TV Experience” details how smart TVs have become the primary platform for video services, the role of technology and what impact the COVID-19 has had.

According to Steve Nason, research director at Parks Associates, smart TVs have steadily improved their ease of navigation and discovery of content features, helping them to supplant other video devices as the main source of video content.

“Enhancements such as an improved UX come at an important market inflection point, where consumers are watching more video at home while also cutting the cord on pay-TV, leaving them to search for content on their own, across multiple services,” said Nason.

From Q1 2019 to Q1 2020, more than 6 million U.S. broadband households have cut the cord on traditional pay-TV services, according to Parks Associates, primarily transitioning to OTT services or broadcast TV via antennas. Smart TVs are also gaining inroads for online video as well, with one-third of homes citing a smart TV as their primary streaming video device, the only measured device seeing a year-over-year increase, said Nason.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen increased viewership for the TV as people have been quarantining since mid-March. Parks says that households are consuming more than 20 hours of video content on average weekly via the TV, 40% more than in 2017.

For more information, visit www.parksassociates.com. 

IRVINE, Calif.—Consumers who have been forced into a “touch-free” environment due to the coronavirus pandemic are more likely to use their voices to control a variety of smart devices, according to a survey by Syntiant, a tech company providing voice control technologies. 

The top of the list? Smartphones (61%) and smart TVs/remotes (45%).

According to the online survey (weighted for generational differences), 87% of Americans own one or more smart devices, and Generation Z (ages 18-23) are most likely to increase their use of voice control due to the pandemic. The percentage of Gen Z and Millennials (24-39) who use voice control is 81%, compared to 68% for Gen X (40-55) and 51% for Baby Boomers (56-74).   

Other popular smart devices mentioned in the survey include smart home appliances, gaming devices and smart watches.

PLUS: Broadcast Quality Is Most Important When Delivering Streaming Service 

“Voice is quickly becoming the next user interface,” said Kurt Busch, CEO of Syntiant. “Our survey found that more than two-thirds of Americans are using voice to control their devices, which is indicative of our own customer growth and the growing market opportunity for our hands-free, always-on voice solution. Whether it’s using customized multilingual wake words, or speech commands, such as ‘volume up’ or ‘volume down,’ our Neural Decision Processors deliver voice technology that is creating rewarding experiences at the edge, empowering consumers to use speech to seamlessly command their smart products.”

The biggest concern over the increasing use of voice control is privacy, with 27% listing it as their top concern followed by security (23%), functionality (19%) and ease of use (15%).

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple is expanding the presence of its Apple TV app, announcing that it will become available on LG, Sony and Vizio smart TV “later this year.”

The Apple TV app gives consumers access to more than 30 Apple TV channels, including the Apple TV+ streaming service and its shows like “The Morning Show,” “Dickinson” and “See.” In addition, consumers can buy and rent TV shows and movies through the app, including ones in 4K HDR.

Previously, the app had been available on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac and iPod Touch devices, as well as Samsung smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices. Samsung was the first manufacturer to integrate the Apple TV app onto its smart TVs.

LG has already announced that its 2020 LG OLED and LG NanoCell TVs will feature the Apple TV app. For those with 2018 and 2019 LG TV models, they will be able to access the Apple TV app through a webOS smart TV update.

No official date has been announced for when the Apple TV app will be available on any of these TV models.

LOS GATOS, Calif.—If you’re planning on streaming the upcoming third season of “Stranger Things,” or any content available on Netflix, the streaming giant has identified the smart TVs that it feels will provide the best consumer experience.

Selecting these TVs based on what it believes will deliver the best performance and ease of use for its platform, Netflix have given the following smart TVs is “Netflix Recommends” label:

• Samsung: Q60R, Q70R, Q80R, Q90R, Q900R, RU8000, The Serif and The Frame
• Sony: Bravia X85G/XG85, X95G/XG95 and A9G/AG9
• Panasonic: Viera GX700, GX800 and GX900

Netflix determines its recommended selections based on seven criteria, of which TVs must meet five. The criteria includes: TV instant on; fast app launch; easy Netflix icon access; a Netflix button on the remote; deployment of the Always Fresh feature from Netflix; a high-res Netflix interface; and features the latest version of Netflix.

For more information, including seeing previous year’s recommended TVs, visit Netflix’s website.

NEW YORK—Originally announced during CES in January, as of Monday, May 13, Samsung is making the new Apple TV app and AirPlay 2 capability available in all of its 2019 Samsung Smart TVs, as well as select 2018 models via a firmware upgrade. The addition of these services from Apple will enable Samsung customers to view Apple TV channels and iTunes movies and TV shows.

Samsung’s Won-Jin Lee, executive vice president of visual display business, says that Samsung is the first manufacturer to integrate the Apple TV app on a Smart TV platform. The Samsung TV’s will also be the first non-Apple product to support AirPlay 2.

The Apple TV app is being fully integrated into Samsung’s Smart TV platform, allowing viewers to buy or rent iTunes movies and TV shows, including titles available in 4K HDR. In addition, viewers will be able to subscribe to Apple TV channels within the app, which will also include the upcoming streaming service Apple TV+ set to debut later this year. The Apple TV app is designed to work with Samsung Smart TV’s services, including Universal Guide, Bixby and Search.

AirPlay 2 capability on the Samsung Smart TVs enable customers to play videos and other content from their iPhone, iPad or Mac directly to a Samsung Smart TV.

NEW YORK—A pair of moves is pushing Nielsen toward a focus on addressable advertising for Smart TVs. The first was the acquisition of Sorenson Media, an addressable TV technology provider, which will assist with Nielsen’s launch of its new division, Nielsen Advanced Video Advertising.

According to Variety, Nielsen acquired Sorenson in a bankruptcy court proceeding with a winning bid of $11.25 million.

Nielsen is combining the addressable TV ad platform of Sorenson with its own Automatic Content Recognition technology, which it acquired as part of its acquisition of Gracenote two years ago. Another previous acquisition that will assist with this latest effort was the purchase of Qterics, a Smart TV software and privacy management company.

“[W]ith the Sorenson Media acquisition, we can create improved value and efficiency across the entire media chain—from ad targeting and delivery to measurement and attribution—and make addressable TV more of a reality,” said David Kenny, CEO of Nielsen.

Through its new Advanced Video Advertising initiative, Nielsen will aim to make every addressable TV ad transacted in a way so that it is transparent and drives value for the TV industry.

Nielsen launched a five market addressable TV pilot across two OEMs in 2018 with CBS, A+E Networks and other broadcasters with the goal of further understanding consumer’s experience and the impact of broadcast workflow. Sorenson’s addressable technology will be added to the next phase of the pilot, along with additional programmer participation.

LAS VEGAS—Samsung has announced that it will add support for movies and TV shows purchased via Apple’s iTunes as well as support for Apple AirPlay beginning in the spring. Support on 2018 Samsung Smart TVs will be made available via firmware update.

This marks the first time Apple has made support for its iTunes platform available on a non-Apple device. Support for iTunes will be made available on Samsung Smart TV’s in more than 100 countries and support for “AirPlay 2”—the latest version of Apple’s platform that allows consumers to stream from Apple devices to smart TVs—in 190 countries.

This capability will allows users to access and purchase or rent iTunes content—including 4K, HDR movies—on Samsung Smart TVs as well as play videos, photos, music, podcasts, etc.

“We pride ourselves on working with top industry leaders to deliver the widest range of content services to our Smart TV platform,” said Won-Jin Lee, Executive Vice President, Service Business of Visual Display at Samsung Electronics. “Bringing more content, value and open platform functionality to Samsung TV owners and Apple customers through iTunes and AirPlay is ideal for everyone.”

“We look forward to bringing the iTunes and AirPlay 2 experience to even more customers around the world through Samsung Smart TVs, so iPhone, iPad and Mac users have yet another way to enjoy all their favorite content on the biggest screen in their home,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Internet Software and Services at Apple.

For all the latest news from the 2019 CES, visit TWICE’s CES Hub. 

To access all the latest CES news on Twitter, follow #MyCES2019.

The number of U.S. TV homes with at least one internet-connected TV device continues to swing upward, Leichtman Research Group (LRG) found in a new study.

Some 74% of those homes have at least one such device in a category that includes smart TVs, standalone streaming players, streaming adapters and sticks, and connected Blu-ray players, LRG said in the study, "Connected and 4K TVs XV," which based findings on a survey of 1,202 U.S. TV homes.

The 2018 results are up from 65% in LRG’s 2016 study, 44% in 2013, and a mere 24% in 2010.

LRG said 29% of adults in U.S. TV homes watch video on a TV via a connected device daily, up from 19% in 2016, 6% in 2013, and 1% in 2010.

Tying into a broader trend that has seen younger viewers gravitate to OTT-delivered video, that group currently over-indexes in the 18-34 age group (43%), compared to 33% who are 35-54, and 12% among those 55 years or older.

Per the study, about 29% of all TVs in U.S. homes are connected smart TVs, up from just 7% in 2014. Among homes with any connected TV device, 57% have three or more, with a mean of 3.8 devices per connected TV home.

Across all TV homes, the mean number of connected TV devices is 2.8, versus a mean of 1.7 pay TV set-top boxes per U.S. TV home

“Connected TVs, along with Netflix and other SVOD services, are among the biggest factors driving change in the video industry over the past few years,” Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG, said in a statement. “In a short period of time, connected devices have allowed an increasing number of consumers to easily watch SVOD and other video options on the same TV screen as traditional pay-TV and broadcast offerings."

PONTE VERDA BEACH, FLA.—The PGA Tour has added a new club to its bag for delivering content to its fans, as the organization has announced it is launching a live and video-on-demand OTT service through a partnership with Xumo.

The PGA Tour says that this is its first ad-supported OTT channel available on smart TVs and will provide both live and VOD programming. Content will include highlights/recaps, player interviews, tournament previews and live featured hole coverage from PGA Tour Live.

The channel is now available on LG’s Channel Plus service, powered by Xumo on channel IP-750, and across the Xumo distribution network, which includes Hisense, Sharp, Vizio and Panasonic connected devices.

OTTAWA—Nuvyyo is covering all the bases of the smart TV market now, as the company has announced the release of a native Tablo app for Samsung Smart TVs, meaning Tablo OTA DVRs now support all major smart TV operating systems, including Roku, Amazon Fire, Android TV, LG webOS and Samsung Tizen.

The Tablo Samsung Tizen smart TV app is optimized for lean-back viewing and enables users to discover, schedule, record and stream both live and recorded broadcast television programs using their TV remotes. The app provides access to Tablo’s content discovery, live playback and DVR functions, including pause, rewind, fast forward and series recording.

Consumers with Samsung smart TVs 2015 and later, and running the Tizen operating system, will be able to utilize the Tablo app. The app is available for download from the Samsung Tizen app store and www.TabloTV.com/apps.

LAS VEGAS—Adding new meaning to the ubiquitous “smart television,” LG, Samsung, Sony and other manufacturers unveiled plans to put artificial intelligence capabilities into future displays, including deals with Amazon, Google and others to integrate their voice-response personal assistants into various devices. The blizzard of new—or updated—TV-related technologies unveiled at CES included “micro light emitting diode” (MLED) as an alternative to OLED and QLED, plus the latest iteration of thin “roll-up” (window shade) display panels.

ATSC 3.0 technologies, meanwhile, are popping up on the periphery of the sprawling CES exhibit halls, including presentations by the Pearl TV consortium and Sinclair Broadcasting about their plans for NextGen TV. 

Although the CES exhibit halls officially open on Tuesday (Jan. 9) morning, vendors previewed their products on Sunday night and Monday. In addition to the familiar—and competitive—products from familiar Japanese and Korean manufacturers, Chinese companies such as TCL and Hisense aggressively stepped up their flat-panel offerings, and nVidia, the California chip-maker known for its game processors and AI developments, jumped into the display business.

nVidia’s first monitor is a 65-inch 4K “big format gaming display”(BFGD), which will feature low latency (a “must” for gamers) plus 120Hz refresh rates, full-array backlighting, a peak brightness of 1,000 nits and full DCI-P3 color gamut support. nVidia will work with ASUS, Acer and Hewlett-Packard to build the screens, which analysts point out is a group without much experience in producing big-screen displays. For now, nVidia said that it expects customers to use these large screen at their PC/gaming locations—not as primary television viewing monitors.

LG has set up an open partnership model with Google and Amazon to use their voice controlled AI systems for TVs and for other LG devices, including appliances, on the “ThinQ” platform. LG’s OLED TV sets use an Alpha 9 processor and include 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos sound. LG also unveiled Super UHD LCD products with “nano cell” display, which the company said will provide richer, more accurate colors from wider viewing angles.

Samsung’s new line-up includes a 146-inch “self-emissive” LCD using the MLED technology which puts more than 10,000 separate LED dimming zones on the screen. MLED uses Quantum Dots arrayed atop an inorganic self-emissive diode, which Samsung claims will eliminated heat or color degradation. Although Samsung does not appear ready to bring the device to market quickly, analysts said that presentation suggests that MLED is relatively close to delivery.

Samsung also unveiled 8K “micro full array sets,” including 85-inch and 65-inch models which use a lighting system that delivers 4,000 nits of brightness. The company has also developed 8K upscaling algorithms, which it says enhance detail and pixel depth, remove jagged edges and reduce video noise.

Panasonic introduced its first UHD OLEDs and UHD Blu-ray players, although its displays will not be sold in the U.S. now, except to the professional/production market. A company executive told TV Technology that Panasonic has not abandoned the U.;S. market, despite its shifting focus in recent years toward enterprise solutions (its CES exhibit focuses on smart cities, vehicle and other non-video-centric products). Nonetheless, the Panasonic demo included products that support HDR in devices ranging from cameras and video security systems.

Among the new offerings from Chinese makers, Hisense has integrated Amazon’s Alexa into some of its TV sets and is using quantum dot technology. TCL has added next-generation Roku TV to its line.

ANALYST PERCEPTION PLUS NEXTGEN TV PLANS

“It’s not about the display; it’s about the processor,” said Greg Harper, president of Harpervision, a New York technology consulting firm, who compared the different approaches. “Everyone showed faster, better processors to get better pictures.”

“The bottom line is that everyone has their own ways of getting absolute blacks. The differentiation is how you process the metadata coming from HDR, Dolbyvision or other systems,” Harper added.

Sony has teamed up with Pearl to develop an ATSC 3.0 application environment, including an on-screen navigation tool that will be used in the Phoenix “model market” project.

“Our finished product for the Phoenix Model Market will be the first Electronic Service Guide with program information from both broadcasters and multichannel providers built with ATSC 3.0 technology,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. It will include personalization and voice command support, both directly to the TV and indirectly through companion devices. Pearl is demonstrating its plans privately at a Las Vegas hotel.

Meanwhile, ONE Media, the next-gen venture allied with Sinclair Broadcasting, is privately showing its “Concept Vison Demo” in collaboration with Gaian, the Indian chip-maker that Sinclair bought last year. The presentation, at the same hotel as Pearl TV, includes AI, cognitive applications including content scheduling, playout, preparation, transport and dynamic ad insertion. ONE Media’s Mark Aitken characterized the demonstration as one that “brings OTA and OTT together…creating a truly transactional platform.” 

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

NEW YORK—The number of people in the U.S. who will use a smart TVis expected to rise 10.1 percent from last year, to 168.1 million, according to findings from the eMarketer research firm.

As a result, the firm expects fewer people to watch content from such secondary connected-TV devices as Rokus and Amazon Fire TV Sticks. 

"Essentially, more people are buying smart TVs than previously anticipated, which holds back demand for third-party connectivity devices," said Paul Verna, principal video analyst at eMarketer.

Smart TVs will make up nearly half of all connected TV viewers, growing nearly 31 percent to 81.2 million users in 2017.

Despite smart TV’s dominance, growth in usage of connected-TV devices remains robust, said the firm. It estimated that 38.9 million Americans will use a Roku device at least once a month, up 19.3 percent from last year. As a result, the device will capture nearly a quarter (23.1) percent of all connected-TV users.

Indeed, Roku leads the pack, with an estimated 38.9 million people expected to use one at least once a month. Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV follow in succession.

“As the only major market participant not affiliated with a content or TV device platform, Roku has used its neutrality to strike deals with a wide range of partners, including smart TV makers, over-the-top (OTT) service providers and social media companies,” said Verna. “That expansive strategy, combined with the company’s broad selection of connectivity devices at various price points, has put Roku at the head of the pack.”

The firm expects Apple TV to continue to fall further behind its rivals.

“Apple TV has been held back by the absence of a compelling content offering, a lack of support for increasingly popular Amazon video content and a much higher price bracket than its competitors,” Verna said. “Apple TV devices currently start at $150, whereas Google, Amazon and Roku all sell streaming sticks that are priced well below $40.”

eMarketer cautioned that overlap is to be expected, as some consumers own more than one device.

This story was originally posted on TVT's sister publication TWICE. 

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—The next three years look to be a time of some major growth for internet-connected TVs, according to a new report from the NPD Group. The report forecasts that 238 million smart TVs and streaming media devices will be installed by the end of 2019, which would represent a 59 percent increase from 2015.

Read the full story on TV Technology’s sister publication, TWICE.