NPD: Rising Tide for Streaming Media Players

Consumers in the United States are using the online capabilities of their home entertainment devices and TVs more than ever, but fewer than half of such products are connected to the Internet, according to a new report from NPD Group.

The research firm said Wednesday that a first-quarter survey of more than 4,000 U.S. consumers age 18 and older indicated that 47 percent of Internet-capable TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and streaming media devices were being used to stream online content.

That represents an uptick in the use of the online functionality of such devices, with game consoles and streaming media players the leading product categories tapped for their Internet capabilities, according to NPD.

Internet-capable Blu-ray players and smart TVs are the "least likely to actually be connected to the Internet and used for their online features," the research firm reported. By sheer volume, however, there are more Blu-ray players currently connected to the Internet than any other home entertainment device. But NPD said it's seeing a shift in the market towards rapid adoption of streaming media players and subscriptions for over-the-top (OTT) content.

In ranking the four product categories by likelihood of being used for online purposes, NPD put streaming media players first, game consoles second, Blu-ray players third, and smart TVs last.

That jibes with an NPD report issued last December, which found that very few smart TV owners were using their TVs to access their full range of Internet capabilities, though some 60 percent were using them to stream OTT video services.

"While there are more Blu-ray disc players installed and connected to the Internet than streaming media players such as Apple TV ($69.00 at Groupon) and Roku , we expect that to change in the next year. Streaming media players will exceed the number of installed and Internet connected Blu-ray players in 2014," NPD analyst John Buffone said in a statement.

"This inflection point will help drive over-the-top content adoption, as the new generation of streaming media devices are optimized for content delivery, providing a more compelling interface that will aid in consumer discovery of new services, especially when compared to Blu-ray disc players," he said.

Meanwhile, Netflix remained the leading OTT service tapped by owners of Internet-connected TVs and devices. NPD found that "40 percent of TVs connected to the Internet, either through the TV itself or through another device, are used to watch Netflix streaming." Some 17 percent of surveyed consumers with Internet-capable home entertainment systems used them to access YouTube and 11 percent were accessing Hulu's free ad-supported service or the paid Hulu Plus service, the research firm said.

"Content usage remains dominated by Netflix and YouTube. An opportunity for digital distribution lies in enticing consumers to plug in to the Internet and download the apps available on devices they already own," Buffone said.

For more, see Best Media Players Compared: Roku vs. Apple TV vs. Google TV, as well as PCMag's guide to help you Turn Any TV Into a Smart TV.