As Americans get more and more of their entertainment from streaming services, they’re doing so from connected TVs.

A new report says that more than 80 percent of U.S. households with a TV have at least one “Internet-connected TV device.” That definition means either smart TVs, connected video game systems and Blu-ray players, as well as Internet streaming boxes and sticks.

That percentage is now 82 percent, compared with 80 percent in 2020, 74 percent in 2019, 65 percent in 2016, and 30 percent in 2011, according to Leitchman Research Group.

Meanwhile, 39 percent of adults “watch video on a TV via a connected device daily,” which is actually less than 40 percent figure from the 2020 version of the survey, although that may be due to pandemic TV watching in early 2020. The number was 31 percent in 2019, 19 percent in 2016, and 3 percent in 2011.

Younger people, including those aged 18–34, are more likely to watch TV with connected devices on a daily basis, with 54 percent of those in that age demographic saying they do so. In addition, those who do not subscribe to pay-TV services (50 percent) are more likely to watch connected TV daily than those who don’t (35 percent.)

The survey also found that in 2021, “mean reported spending on a new TV was about $530,” compared with $795 five years earlier, showing how much prices of TVs have dropped over time.

“Use of connected TV devices leveled 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,” Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc, said in a press statement.

“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.”

Leichtman Research Group is the firm that each quarter releases a report about how many customers pay-TV services have lost. LRG reported in March that the pay-TV industry lost 5.1 million subscribers in 2020, after losing $4.795 million in 2019. The companies did add about 5 million broadband subscribers in 2020.

“Net pay-TV losses of over 5 million subscribers in 2020 were slightly higher than in 2019, and more than in any previous year,” Leichtman noted in the March report. “Overall, the top pay-TV providers lost 5.9% of subscribers in 2020, compared to 5.2% in 2019.”

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for the National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters