41.4% of TVs in Latin America are Smart

41.4% of TV sets in Latin America are Smart TV

The Covid-19 crisis highlighted a considerable increase in video consumption. In the U.S., Comcast has seen a 50% rise in VOD viewing over March and April 2020 for instance.

Smart TVs have experienced a great deployment in Latin America. By the end of 2020, there will be 111 million devices installed.

The rapid progress of Smart TVs in Latin America has several explanations. Since 2016 the integration of the Internet has become a basic feature present in most of the televisions sold. Besides, in some countries, mainly Brazil and Mexico, the renewal time of televisions was accelerated following the analogue blackout on free to view television, that required the replacement of the receiver.

Another strong stimulus for the deployment of Smart TVs is the progress of OTT services. By the end of the year, the SVOD OTT offering is expected to be available in 109.4 million homes. This increase has led the rate of Smart TVs that are effectively connected to reach 76%.

Dataxis estimated that as of 2019 there were 7.2 million media players in Latin America. The segment was led by Google’s Chromecast, which held a 65% market share. The alternatives on Android TV, dongles and boxes, already weighted 26%. Android TV is the fastest growing alternative, supported by its complementarity with pay TV piracy.