It’s a Smart TV/Device World After All

Refinery 29 in fact disclosed at its NewFront event that half of its viewership comes from smart TVs and devicesamp160 Seconds after celebrating that milestone with a video wall graphic Refinery executives announced plans this fall to launch Channel 29 a 247 source of scripted and unscripted programs exclusively through smart TVs and devicesamp160 There will be quite a few content players old and new joining Refinery 29 through the end of 2018 in starting up services for which smart TVs and devices will be the main distribution avenue to consumers if not the distribution avenueamp160 Among them DC Universe from Warner BrosWarner Media and The Stage Network all about the theater worldDriving this activity amp160a growing sense that penetration of smart sets and devices hasamp160reached critical mass in the US TV household universe and usage of these products are still in forward momentum mode amp160According to Nielsenamp8217s Total Audience Report TAR released earlier this month 76 million or 632 percent of all TV households possess at least one smart set or device a more than 50 percent increase from winter 201617 amp160Total Audience Reportamp8217s conclusions are as of the end of March 2018Peter Katsingris Nielsenamp8217s Senior Vice President of Audience Insights labels smart TVs and devices from Roku to Chromecast as amp8220that extra touchpointamp8221 giving users more of what they want to see on Netflix Hulu CBS All Access Sony Crackle YouTube Premium and a burgeoning roster of such recently introduced services as ESPN AfrolifeTV billed as the Netflix for AfricanAmericans Revry directed at gay lesbian and transgender audiences and Bluprint NBCUniversalamp8217s craftsandbeyond digital outpostamp8220Itamp8217s all about the individualization and customization of options that consumers have whether youamp8217re a teenager in your bedroom or a child in the living room or the person in the kitchenquot Katsingris saysMore notable from this Nielsen report is the acrosstheboard jump in smart TVdevice adoption amp160For example amp8220penetration is high among Hispanic households and even higher among AsianAmerican householdsamp8221 Katsingris says amp160amp8220The younger generation is more likely to have one of these devices as their behaviors are more likely to involve streaming as opposed to traditional viewingamp8221Univision estimates that 46 percent of all Latino households possess a smart TV or device as of four months ago amp160Thatamp8217s up 28 percent from a May 2017 estimate of the same household base 36 percentamp160 amp8220The growing popularity of smart TVs and the accessibility of broadband connections has influenced smart TV popularity and impacted the Hispanic market positivelyamp8221 explains Roberto Ruiz the network39s Executive Vice President of Research Insights and Analytics amp160amp8220The landscape is rapidly changing and with it an opening for growth among marketers and distributors who are seeking to tap into the Hispanic consumer worldamp8221The younger the age group the more time they spend using smart TVs and devices on a daily basis according to Nielsenamp8217s TAR amp160Adults 1834 devote at least one hour per day with these products with a growing portion of this community spending threefour hours per day in front of a smart set amp160Among adults 1234 the minimum time per day is 30 minutes amp160The average smartTV time per day when all demographics are accounted for isamp160just over 2 12 hours as of the last three months of 2017Although people over age 34 generally spend less time catching content on smart TVs and devices that outlook is starting to shift Katsingris says amp160amp8220Once people acquire these products they incorporate them into their behaviors almost immediately and you see impacts on their overall media behavioramp8221As more people switch out their current sets for smarter models with increased functionality at everlower prices their usage curve willamp160considerably riseamp160 More leaps in usage will come from cable subscribers whose operators put smart TV elements into their settops and the base of cordcutters shavers and nevers amp8220who will still need a device to stream the content they love amp160The smart TV might be their best betamp8221 Katsingris assertsIf television stations are not on a learning curve over what smart TVs and devices can do at present and in the future nowamp8217s the time to jumpstart one says Sinclair Broadcast Group executive Scott Ehrlich amp160amp8220The distance from the screen interface and screen size all point to a different consumption pattern and the viewingtime data backs it upquot he notesamp160 quotPeople watch more video longer in a bigscreen session than a small oneamp160amp160As programmers that informs the choices we make in packaging and presenting content on various platformsamp8221Will this new wave of services which is expected to include Apple Walt Disneyamp8217s familyfocused resources and possibly Walmart next year amp160succeed inside a smart TVdevice universeamp160 And as a fastgrowing number of sets and devices incorporate artificial intelligencepowered features like Siri Alexa or Google Assistant will viewers use these products to usher in that longawaited age of interactive content advertising and commerceamp8220I donamp8217t know right nowamp8221 acknowledges Katsingrisamp160 amp8220It all depends on where these services make themselves available the preference of the consumer and what they have access toamp160 It39s definitely something to keep in mind as we continue research amp160Thereamp8217s more we can do to understand how time watching or using TV is split up streaming versus gaming to the set versus other services and who is using these new featuresamp8221Photo creditamp160 Siniz KimUnsplashClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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It’s a Smart TV/Device World After All

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Simon Applebaum

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It’s a Smart TV/Device World After All

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