Streaming Video

Though Roku players, Amazon Fire TV boxes and the new Apple TV device remain popular, smart TVs beat them all when it comes to which platform consumers prefer for streaming video.

That’s according to a new survey from The Diffusion Group that queried 2,000 U.S. adult broadband users, of which 60% use an over-the-top streaming service on their home TVs.

Smart TVs, at 32.1%, was the most preferred platform (see chart), followed by game consoles (25.1%), Internet set-top boxes (16.8%), Internet sticks (9.9%), connected Blu-ray players (9.7%), and DVRs (2.4%). Just over 4% had no preference.

TDG noted that the preference figure lines up with the penetration of smart TVs. But why did smart TVs outrank the other options?

Simplicity is key, per the theory of TDG director of research Michael Greeson: "With smart TVs, viewers are not required to manually switch inputs from the TV to another device or pick up a different remote in order to access their favorite streaming apps and programs."