Strategy Analytics in its report ‘Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service’ said that Apple has emerged as the clear leader in the rapidly growing connected TV player market.
The global sales of connected TV players — also known as video streaming or internet TV set-top-boxes — will more than double in 2011, compared to 2010, according to the report. It is forecasted that the market will reach almost 12 million units globally this year, with Apple alone expected to sell nearly four million devices.
While connected TV players have not gained mainstream traction, an increasing number of consumers are buying them, as they offer one of the easiest ways to get Internet content onto the big TV screen, the report says. More than 8% of US households now own a connected TV player, compared to 7% of European households.
Apple TV users are spending more money on movies and TV shows: 30 percent of Apple TV owners rented movies or TV shows, compared to 20% of users of other devices, Strategic Analytics says.
Strategic Analytics senior analyst at the Connected Home Devices (CHD) service Jia Wu said Apple is leading this nascent market, which it still considers a ‘hobby." As Apple prepares for its expected launch of smart TVs in 2012, rival platforms must accelerate their development plans to keep Apple from running away with the connected TV business, as it has done in smartphones and digital music," Wu adds.
