Strong Recovery in Global Connected TV Device Market As Consumers Turn To Home Entertainment
Samsung sold 11.8 million smart TVs worldwide in Q3 2020, the best ever quarter by Samsung or any other vendor, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics’ TV Streaming Platforms service. Samsung’s Q3 performance means that there are now more than 155 million Tizen OS smart TVs in use around the world, an increase of 23% in the past year. The global market for connected TV devices as a whole (including smart TVs, media streamers and games consoles) reached 81.3 million units in Q3, an increase of 19% year-on-year, representing a strong recovery after two quarters of flat or declining sales during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smart TVs and media streamers each performed well, while sales of TV games consoles also began to increase again after several quarters of decline. Strategy Analytics predicts that connected TV device sales in 2020 overall will finish 7% higher than in 2019, demonstrating the consistently strong appeal of innovative home entertainment technologies in spite of this year’s tough economic conditions.
According to the report, Samsung is now focusing on monetizing its fast-growing Tizen OS TV streaming platform to advertisers and content providers. The company has been promoting the platform heavily in recent months as it seeks to gain leadership in the connected TV advertising space, one of the fastest growing segments of the video advertising business. According to Strategy Analytics’ research, Tizen OS is the largest TV streaming platform worldwide, accounting for 12.5% of Connected TV devices in use. The next largest platforms are LG’s WebOS, Sony PlayStation, Roku TV OS, Amazon’s Fire TV OS and Google’s Android TV.
“Samsung’s success in building Tizen as a global TV streaming platform bodes well for the company’s new revenue streams,” suggests Michael Goodman, Director, TV & Media Strategies. “Content providers and advertisers are keen to benefit from the rapidly growing audience for connected TV services as increasing numbers of viewers switch away from traditional pay TV and broadcast platforms.”
“By the end of this year nearly 1.3 billion connected TV devices will be in use worldwide, notes David Watkins, Director, TV Streaming Platforms. “Samsung’s success in smart TVs means that it will retain its leadership position for some time. The multi-way battle between Samsung, LG, Sony, Amazon, Roku and Google will shape the way TV is viewed over the coming decade.”
