As viewing habits shift and the consumer electronics market stagnates, what does the AV industry need to do to ensure that the market doesn't falter?
Author:
ContributorPublish date:
Oct 2, 2018
How we watch TV has fundamentally changed in recent years the notion of broadcast is becoming increasingly defunct as people stream shows on Netflix and Amazon, download content or watch videos on YouTube.
TVs are now just one of many screens that people use to watch their favourite shows on. And, when they are viewing, their attention might be also be focused on a smartphone or tablet as they play games or message friends across multiple screens.
TV manufacturers are no longer just competing with each other to impress viewers with screen size and functionality, but also with a host of other screens that people use for viewing. Our recent whitepaper dug into those shifting consumer needs, and analysed the current state of the industry, to assess whether the AV market - but in particular the Smart TV sector - is at a crossroads and, if so, what Smart TV manufacturers can do to ensure that they remain successful.
Shifting consumer needs
The report found that even though smartphone screen time is growing, overall TV consumption remains unaffected, with the average consumer in Europe watching about three hours of TV every day in 2012 a number that stayed consistent through to 2017. This number increases to 5.1 hours per day for Smart TVs. This is partially thanks to digital services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu helping to keep total TV consumption stable, despite the decline of linear TV services, particularly in Europe and North America. This shift in viewing means that digital services are quickly becoming essential to the future of TV consumption. And as people spend more time using these services, they increasingly expect to be able access their content seamlessly across all their devices, and so opt for highly integrated systems that promise both great content and device interoperability. Smart TVs are the screen of choice for watching digital video content, with almost 250 million units predicted to be sold globally in 2023. People tend to value the TV as an established device for media consumption, offering a unique value proposition that is not addressed by smartphones. The living room and the bedroom are the top locations for viewing. The report found that people prefer to consume content late into the night, with 43 per cent of viewers opting to watch online videos in the evening. This means that the status of the TV screen in the house remains relatively safe.
Uncertain marketplace
The report also found that the consumer electronics market is shrinking globally, driven by lower sales volumes. For example, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for tablets decreased by 10 per cent between 2012 and 2017; desktop computer CAGR declined by nine per cent and laptops by five per cent. Only selected categories, such as the smartphone, smart speakers and wearables, are still growing.The prices of consumer electronics have seen almost no growth (+2% between 2012 and 2017), and the consumer electronics market is in decline in terms of revenue and shipments, despite economic advances and growing global internet penetration. This impacts revenues for the consumer electronics marketplace, which are declining in certain regions.
Smart TVs under threat
Since 2015, Smart TVs have been the major technology trend for replacing old TV sets, and are now the device standard, edging out competition from the likes of 3D TV. However, some regional markets are now reaching saturation as the overall TV market is shrinking, with CAGR declining by six per cent between 2012 and 2017. Future market growth is also likely to be slower because the majority of TV sales are replacements, with trends in the overall TV market tending towards stagnation.Despite positive future expectations from analysts, there is no clear development path for innovative TV manufacturers. Although analysts predict the return of strong growth rates, historical trends do not suggest such a turn around, so the future remains uncertain.
Ensuring the future of Smart TVs
The key opportunity for Smart TVs to maintain their value proposition and turn around the decline that is affecting the entire TV sector is to strive for constant innovation.These were the major opportunities of growth for the industry that our report revealed:
Blockchain
AI
Smart Home Integration
Taking each in turn, applying Blockchain to content management and financial services has the potential to drive service automation and content delivery for smart TV ecosystems. Worldwide spending on Blockchain solutions is expected to grow by 67 per cent CAGR until 2022, and the Smart TV industry is one of many that could benefit from this.Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly popular in the home thanks to the introduction of Smart Speakers and virtual assistants, such as Alexa, Google Home and Siri. AI can be used in the context of Smart TVs to anticipate media demand for content delivery and consumer interaction. It is already used by the likes of Netflix to adapt trailers for shows to suit people's viewing habits, highlighting aspects of programs that will most appeal to individual viewers. The global market is expected to grow by 51 per cent CAGR until 2022.As more devices in the home become connected and IoT products become more common, the Smart TV is well-placed to become the central hub for people to interact with all their devices and smart home services, and ensure they are working seamlessly together. It is estimated that the global smart home revenue will increase with a CAGR of 25 per cent up to 2022, and Smart TVs stand to benefit from this.
Winning formula
It is vital for the Smart TV market to stimulate future growth by
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
As viewing habits shift and the consumer electronics market stagnates, what does the AV industry need to do to ensure that the market doesn't falter?
