Connected TV set to tune in with 965m users by 2020

The rise of connected TV is forecast to surge with the number of TV sets connected to the internet poised to reach 965 million by 2020, according to the latest findings from Digital TV Research.

The accelerated take-up would see a growth spurt from 103 million connected sets at the end of 2010 and the 339 million expected by the end of this year. The Connected TV research claims that the proportion of TV sets connected to the internet, globally, will have swelled to 30.4% by 2020 compared with the 12.1% expected by end-2014.

The research covers 51 countries, with South Korea leading the boom with  52.7% connected by 2020, followed by the UK at 50.6%,  Japan  at 48.6% and the US at 47.0%.

Emerging connectivity conduits, such as Google’s  Chromecast and BSkyB's NOW TV service, are also set to have a palpable impact. The global total of connected TV sets via streaming or retail set-top boxes is likely to reach 183 million in 2020 up from 36 million by the end of 2014. Of those 31 million will be streaming in the US and 37 million  in China.

In terms of equipment supply, China is tipped to be the dominant connected box supplier contributing a significant 160 million of the 698 million additional TV sets connected to the internet between 2013 and 2020, followed by the US (92 million) and India (75 million).

Driving the connectivity between screen and internet is unsurprisingly, game consoles which are forecast to grow to 202 million by 2020, double the 2013 total. The American gamers will be leading that charge with 50 million of the 2020 total, followed by China (22 million) and Japan (18 million).

Significantly, the research reveals that the number of installed smart TV sets overtook games consoles connected to the web in 2013. Smart TV sets  are forecast to account for over a third (36%) of the 2020 total connected sets, at 346 million. Of these,  56 million will be located in the US and 74 million in China.