Fresh standards are being established for smart TVs as television manufacturers and service providers cater to increasing consumer demand for internet-delivered content and apps in the living room.

At this month’s IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Sony is to demonstrate a simpler version of the Google TV service, being made available next year outside the US for the first time, while LG, Philips and Sharp announced the first alliance of TV makers to establish common specifications for TV apps.

Service providers are seeing consolidation among their customers around common apps and services.

Consumers now spend more than twice as much on subscription streaming services like Netflix movies over smart TVs and connected devices than more traditional rentals such as video on-demand.

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