New Parks Associates research found that almost half of pay TV subscribers — 46% — find home control and interactive features provided through their television to be appealing or very appealing.

The research found that the most popular advanced feature is the ability to stream content from an online video service through a pay-TV service. Overall, 66% of respondents find this appealing, with 49% ranking it very appealing.

TV Smart Home Control

Other tasks that resonated with respondents (in order): Smart home/home security, cloud gaming, buying products (T-Commerce), interactive polls and sports betting.

More than a third of respondents said they found controlling smart home devices and home security systems appealing or very appealing. More than a third also said that about playing video games on the TV from a cloud gaming service. Another capability that appealed to at least a third of respondents was shopping for outfits, items and other goods seen in TV shows.

“This data highlights a significant interest in smart home technology integration within the pay-TV market,” Parks Associates’ President and CMO Elizabeth Parks said in a press release. “The home ecosystems continue to overlap, creating new opportunities to expand control and enhance the user experience. Consumers expect and want more interconnected and technologically advanced home entertainment systems.”

The survey covered 8,000 internet households in the U.S.

Overall, smart devices are proliferating. Last April, Parks Associates found that in the fourth quarter of 2016, 7% of households with smart devices had three or more. That segment increased to 14% in the fourth quarter of 2018, to 23% during the fourth quarter of 2020 and 28% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In a report that rained a bit on the smart device parade, IDC said late last March that smart TVs fell 4.3% worldwide in 2023. Reasons included macroeconomic factors and the strong performance in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.