Local Content Driving Sales of Smart TVs in North America, China, Says IHS

More than half of TVs shipped worldwide in Q1 were smart models, led by an uptake of internet-connected TVs in China, where four of five TVs shipped had smart functionality, said an IHS report Wednesday. In North America, 56 percent of TVs shipped were smart, it said. Analyst Paul Gray called the trend “remarkable” in China and North America, where the smart TV feature has quickly pushed into entry-level products. But shipments have stagnated in Europe and Japan in recent quarters, said IHS. Just 38 percent of sets shipped in Japan in Q1 were smart, the lowest recorded since 2011, IHS said, and European shipments have remained stable at 40-45 percent for the past two years. “It’s all about content,” said Gray. “Where the local offering is relatively weak, consumers are reluctant to pay extra for built-in internet TV services,” he said. “Good streaming content in local languages remains the key to value in smart TV.” The Android operating system was in nearly half of smart TVs shipped in Q1, though Tizen is in 43 percent of smart TVs shipped outside China, he said. North America has Roku as an additional smart TV platform, giving Chinese brands a way to elevate product value. Chinese brands are shipping between 10 percent and 20 percent of products with smart capability in Europe, compared with 90 percent for the North American market, Gray said. “Smart TV is becoming a critical factor in Chinese brands’ export development.” Gray said, and Roku TVs in North America are a way for “aggressive brands to build share with consumers confident of the value of their purchases.”