Streaming is up significantly this year and viewers are increasingly turning to Smart TVs that now command a 15% share of viewing time, up from 8% last year, according to a report by Conviva.
The State of Streaming
The streaming market continues to grow rapidly as new players enter the field and many people are forced to stay indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic. From Q3 2019 to Q3 2020, viewing time grew a total of 57% worldwide, according to the report.
Streaming boxes ('connected TV devices') like Roku, FireTV, and Apple TV still dominate the picture, with a 50% share of global streaming viewing hours in Q3 2020 (51% in Q3 2019).
Smart TVs, like those from Samsung, LG and Vizio, are the big winners of 2020, having almost doubled their share of viewing hours from 8% in Q3 2019 to almost 15% in Q3 2020.
Streaming viewing time in Q3 2020. Source: Conviva
- "Smart TVs thrived more than all other devices, up 200% year over year, and it’s notable to drill into the category to uncover how. Samsung ruled the smart TV market with 47.4% of all viewing time in Q3 2020, eclipsing the next three vendors combined: LG TVs with 22.2%, Vizio TVs with 12.9%, Android TVs with 8.7%. Amazon Fire TVs rounded out the top five with 7%," noted Conviva.
Looking at the data, it is also clear that the TV is the most popular screen for video streaming. Connected TV devices, Smart TVs, and game consoles combined commanded a 70% share of global streaming viewing time in Q3 2020, up from 64% in Q3 2019.
Roku is still by far the most popular streaming box. PS4 and Xbox One are neck and neck in terms of video streaming, according to the data. Later this month, Sony and Microsoft will launch their next-generation game consoles that also support streaming apps, whereas Apple is expected to launch new Apple TV hardware next year. Roku and Amazon both launched upgraded hardware earlier this year.
Source: Conviva
- Source: Conviva
