Data from a recent report shows people are watching significantly more of their content on TV rather than smaller devices. Conviva’s State of Streaming Q4 2020 report shows 75% of all viewing time via connected devices was watched on big screens.
It makes sense that TVs remain the favorite way for viewers to binge their favorite series, especially given the fact that viewers are spending significantly more time at home compared to previous years. There’s less of a need for the on-the-go entertainment a mobile phone or tablet provides (as evident by the short rise and fall of mobile-only streamer Quibi, may it rest in peace.)
Within the TV category, streaming devices dominated nearly 50% share of viewing time in Q4. Favorite devices for streaming include Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast. According to the report, TV devices did uncharacteristically yield some market share for the second quarter in a row, dropping to 49.1% share from 51% share the previous Q4, as the category’s 38% growth was outpaced by overall growth at 44%.
While media players remain the majority’s favorite way to stream on big screens, Smar TVs saw a big jump in popularity, nearly doubling their share up to 16.9% from 9.4% the previous Q4. That means more viewers are starting to watch within their TV’s native app vs. an external device. Samsung, LG, and Vizio were among the top growing Smart TV’s.
Gaming consoles are dwindling in popularity when it comes to using them as a way to stream content on the big screen. Gaming consoles like Xbox and PlayStation enjoyed the smallest advance, up just 16%, and declining in share to 9.1% of global viewing time from 11.3% during the same time last Q4.