39% of U.S. adults watch video on connected TV devices daily

39% of Adults Watch Video via a Connected TV Device Daily

DURHAM, NH — New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds that 82% of U.S. TV households have at least one Internet-connected TV device, including connected Smart TVs, stand-alone streaming devices (like Roku, Amazon Fire TV stick or set-top box, Chromecast, or Apple TV), connected video game systems, and/or connected Blu-ray players. This compares to 80% with at least one connected TV device in 2020, 74% in 2019, 65% in 2016, and 30% in 2011.

Overall, 39% of adults in U.S. TV households watch video on a TV via a connected device daily – compared to 40% in 2020, 31% in 2019, 19% in 2016, and 3% in 2011. Younger individuals are most likely to use connected TV devices. Among all ages 18-34, 54% watch video on a TV via a connected device daily – compared to 43% of ages 35-54 and 22% of ages 55+.

These findings are based on a survey of 2,000 TV households in the U.S., and are part of a new LRG study, Connected TVs 2021. This is LRG’s eighteenth annual study on TVs in the U.S.

Other findings include:

• 35% of adults with a pay-TV service watch video via a connected TV device daily – compared to 50% of pay-TV non-subscribers
• 60% of adults watch video via a connected TV device at least weekly – compared to 59% in 2020, 52% in 2019, 40% in 2016, and 10% in 2011
• 55% of TV households have at least one stand-alone streaming device – up from 49% in 2019, 33% in 2016, and 3% in 2011
• About 43% of all TV sets in U.S. households are connected Smart TVs – an increase from 32% in 2019, 19% in 2016, and 7% in 2014
• In 2021, mean reported spending on a new TV was about $530 – compared to about $795 in 2016
• Given a choice of screens, 78% prefer to watch video on a TV set, 11% on a computer, 8% on a smartphone, and 3% on a tablet

“Use of connected TV devices levelled off over the past year after being pulled forward due to the coronavirus pandemic last year. Still, 39% of adults watch video on a TV via a connected device daily, and 60% at least weekly,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “Over 80% of TV households in the U.S. now have at least one connected TV device, with a mean of 4.1 devices per connected TV household.”