Televisions (with Internet Access)
74.9% of respondents have never owned a television (with Internet access), representing the second largest untapped market of any of the 16 devices studied in a Researchscape survey of 1,000 consumers.
Purchase Interest
51.8% of respondents were “very interested” or “extremely interested” in purchasing a smart television. People interested in smart TVs are most likely to also be interested in smart phones (cellphones with Internet access, 0.371 correlation), video game consoles (0.353 correlation) and portable DVD players (0.290 correlation). They are least interested in feature phones (cell phones without Internet access, -0.184 correlation).
Smart televisions are a category that benefits from device substitution: 6.3% of respondents would replace a broken device from a different category with a smart television. The devices that smart TV sets cannibalize:
12.8% of respondents without a smart television said it was the device they didn’t own that they were most interested in purchasing. Of all respondents, 10% identified smart televisions as the device they were most interested in purchasing, for the third highest interest level identified. Key reasons for interest were Internet access or streaming videos, whether from Netflix, YouTube or Hulu. Also important was eliminating the need for an external device hooked up to the TV.
- For Internet access (mentioned by 29 respondents):
- “Internet FTW [For The Win!]”
- “TV with internet access seems pretty cool. Seems very futuristic, like something that will eventually replace TVs without Internet access.”
- “To surf the Internet from my bed if I need to look something up real quick and don’t have any of my other devices close by.”
- “My current TV doesn’t have internets built in.”
- “I really like any appliance that has Internet access.”
- “I’m interested in buying this device because I feel that the integration of Internet into TV is an amazing thing and I’d love to experience what its like as I’ve seen many commercials advertising them.”
- For Netflix (mentioned by 19 respondents):
- “I would like to have Internet access on the television so that I can use Netflix streaming on my TV.”
- “I like all the integrated features that are a part of the TV. It can do Netflix and YouTube along with straight up TV.”
- “Netflix access built in.”
- “I’d like to use apps like Netflix easily on my television.”
- For streaming (mentioned by 17 respondents):
- “I watch movies on the Internet.”
- “I like to stream video and browse the Internet on large screens. The quality of TV sets is superior to computer monitors in many ways, so I am interested in upgrading.”
- “Would eventually like to get a TV with Internet access to able to stream television to it easier.”
- “Because it would make viewing and streaming shows and movies easier to do while multitasking (cooking, doing homework, surfing the internet).”
- “More easily connected to streaming media, for my entire house.”
- “To watch video that is available online.”
- Doesn’t require external device for Internet access (mentioned by 10 respondents):
- “I would like to do more things on my TV without hooking up external devices to it.”
- “I would be able to do things with my TV that currently I need my PS3 for.”
- “Being able to watch TV without being hooked up to a game system or computer (standalone).”
- “It’s something I really don’t need since I have a Roku and, if I really wanted to, I have enough spare computer parts to slap together a small HTPC but I like the idea of eliminating the need for boxes around the television.”
- My traditional TV set is outdated anyway (mentioned by 9 respondents):
- “Upgrade to current television.”
- “Because these new TVs are better quality.”
- “My television is dated, and I’d like to replace it with modern tech.”
- “To allow me to get more content. Plus my TV is old and needs to be replaced.”
- For YouTube (mentioned by 6 respondents):
- “My parents have one and it’s incredibly convenient. Want to show someone that YouTube video? Pull it up on the TV!”
- “I think it would be cool to watch YouTube on my TV.”
- Don’t own a TV (mentioned by 3 respondents):
- “I don’t have a TV.”
- “I don’t currently own a TV and would sure like one.”
- “Because I don’t currently have a television.”
- Want a bigger screen than computer or traditional TV (mentioned by 6 respondents):
- “Because my computer screen is small. I would like a bigger screen to watch TV shows and movies.”
- “I use my 24 inch monitor for watching TV/movies and console gaming. I would like to upgrade it to a 50 to 60 inch TV.”
- “I want to use Internet in a big screen like 42 or 54 inches.”
- “I’d like a bigger television.”
- For Hulu and other streaming (mentioned by 2 respondents):
- “Make it easier to stream YouTube and Hulu videos on my TV.”
- “My friend has one and it makes Netflix and Hulu very convenient.”
For streaming, 19 mentioned Netflix, 5 YouTube and 2 Hulu.
Current Ownership
21.8% of respondents currently own a smart television, the second lowest ownership rate of the 16 devices studied, behind only digital photo frames.
11.3% no longer use the smart TV, giving it the seventh lowest rate of lapsed usage (compared to an average of 16.3%); 67.6% of owners reported frequently using their smart television.
In a separate survey of 400 consumers, we asked respondents a hypothetical question: which devices would they purchase if they had lost all of their devices in a robbery and new purchases were covered by insurance? 70% of current owners were “very interested” or “extremely interested” in repurchasing a smart television, the fifth highest interest level in repurchasing.
Smart televisions are the fourth most valued of devices: only 5.1% of owners said it was the device that they were least interested in replacing if it broke.
Past Ownership
3.3% of respondents have owned a smart television in the past but no longer do so, the second lowest rate of past ownership. This represents 13% of the group of current and former owners.