Rapid Growth Reported For Connected TV

The use of connected TV devices continues on a sharp upward path, with another year of double-digit growth in the US.

In total, 168.1 million people in the US will use an internet-connected TV this year, up 10.1% over 2016. Usage of smart TVs, which have connectivity built in and need no secondary device, are the largest single subgroup within the category.

Smart TV users will make up nearly half of all connected TV viewers, with 81.2 million users in 2017. That's a sharp 30.8% increase over 2017 levels.

In fact, the growth of smart TV usage has led eMarketer to downwardly revise its latest forecast of total connected TV viewers.

"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.

Growth in usage of connected-TV devices remains robust, nevertheless. eMarketer estimates that 38.9 million Americans will use a Roku device at least once a month, up 19.3% vs. 2016. As a result, the device will capture 23.1% of all connected TV users.