Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

In A Connected World, Why Aren't Smart TVs Very Clever?

Turns out that smart TVs can be, well, pretty dumb. Even moderately priced sets can now connect to the Internet and run Netflix and other apps -- that's the "smart" part. Yet many people are ignoring the built-in features and turning to Apple TV, Roku and other stand-alone streaming devices that often do a better job.

In an August report, the NPD Group estimates that roughly a third of smart TVs in the U.S. weren't actually connected to the Internet. That's down from about half two years earlier, but still not good. Researchers at Parks Associates found that even as more Americans are using smart TV functions, streaming device usage has grown even faster.

"If you're a streaming media box (maker), you've got much more ability to push new features out into the market at an affordable price," says Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates' director of research. "They're very stiff competition for smart TVs."

From the article "In A Connected World, Why Aren't Smart TVs Very Clever?" by Anick Jesdanun and Ryan Nakashima.

Previously In The News

Research: Free trials influence over half of OTT subs

Parks Associates research finds that over 50 per cent of US broadband households that subscribed to an OTT video service within the past year indicate that the service trial played a key role in their...

What do people who don’t have smart home products want from them? Savings

Smart home devices are basically everywhere now, but some people are still holding out on inviting internet-connected appliances into their home. So what would finally get them to adopt the Internet o...

Parks: Cord-cutting Up

Cord-cutter consumer research from Parks Associates shows the percentage of US broadband households that use only antennas to receive TV has steadily increased since 2013 to reach 15 per cent. The fir...

19% US Households Cancel OTT

According to market research firm Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker service, the churn rate for OTT video services is 19 per cent of US broadband households, indicating roughly one in five ho...