TV overtakes PC as main platform for online video

Monday, May 19, 2014

Parks Associates announced new research showing TVs are outpacing computers as the key platform for Internet video at the firm’s 18th annual CONNECTIONS conference in San Francisco. In the first quarter of 2014, U.S. broadband households watched roughly 3 hours of online video per week on each platform, but the amount of online video consumed on a TV is increasing, up from 2.3 hours per week in 1Q 2013, while online video viewing on a PC is on a steady decline.

“The amount of all video consumed on PCs has declined, dropping from over eight hours per week in 2013 to 6.2 hours per week now,” says Brett Sappington, Director of Research, Parks Associates. “Ultimately, consumers can more easily access online video options on a television than ever before. In addition to smart TVs, Blu-ray players, and game consoles, consumers are also buying streaming media players and devices such as Google’s Chromecast. Pay-TV providers are making a strong push to extend TV Everywhere to a variety of devices. These trends are converging to displace computer-based video consumption.

The new research, 360 View: Entertainment Services in U.S. Broadband Households, found 81% of U.S. broadband households watch video on a TV set, while 60% watch content on a computer. Thirty-one percent said they watch video on a smartphone, and 28% watch on a tablet. The PC was the only platform to show any significant decline in video viewing in the past year.