• July 17, 2012

In case we needed more evidence, new research from Parks Associates reveals that the number of people using their Internet-connected televisions to watch online video increased 30% over the past six months.

According to the research, 75% of smart-TV owners who connect their set to the Internet watch on-demand online programming. Among them, 71% watch online TV shows at least monthly, compared with 51% in 2011, and approximately a third watch movies and TV shows daily. The study also estimates Internet-connectable TV shipments will increase from less than 1% in 2008 to 45% in 2012.

“Smart TVs have the potential to be both a threat and an opportunity for pay-TV providers,” said Brett Sappington, Director, Research, Parks Associates, in a statement. “Smart TVs provide consumers another way to access over-the-top services like Netflix on the TV, providing a new distribution channel that all players can leverage to deliver content to consumers. However, by integrating the smart TV into their distribution model, pay-TV providers can leverage their strengths in content costs, customer relationships, bundling, and other areas to play a more substantial role in OTT. In addition, pay-TV providers can potentially use smart TVs to lower subscriber CPE costs, an important consideration in a highly competitive market.”