Holiday Season to Help Drive Record Connected TV Device Sales

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Game console sales will grow by 150% globally between the third and fourth quarters to help the connected TV device sector set a record for a quarter and for a full year, according to Strategy Analytics.

More than 111 million connected TV devices will be sold around the world during the quarter. That’s an increase of 32% compared to the third quarter and 6% compared to the year-ago quarter.

Expectations of a strong fourth quarter have led the firm to predict 2020 sales to reach 315.6 million units, the highest total the firm has seen for the sector.

The firm’s “Global Connected TV Device Vendor Market Share” report says that growth in media streamers will be 42% and smart TVs will grow 9% in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter.

The drivers are the expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the holiday season.

The top five vendors during the fourth quarter will be Amazon (12.8 million connected TV device sales), Samsung and Sony (both with approximately 12 million sales) and LG and Nintendo (about 7 million in sales each).

The year will end with about 1.3 billion connected TV devices in use worldwide, the firm said. Chirag Upadhyay, Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices Analyst, said that the smart TV, streamers and consoles held up “remarkably well” during the challenging year. He said supply chain issues were overcome relatively quickly and that consumer demand has been strong.

David Watkins, the Director of Connected Home Devices for the firm, sees streaming video becoming the default option for many TV viewers.

“Smart TVs are fast becoming the first-choice gateway to the fast expanding world of video-on-demand and internet TV services, and streamers and consoles are a great choice for those who want to upgrade an existing TV,” he said in the press release.