Smart TVs, Appliances Seen Helping Push Smart Home Market as Controllers

More than half of U.S. broadband households will have a smart home controller by 2020, as more companies embed controllers into entertainment products, said a Monday report from Parks Associates. Some 24 percent of broadband households will have an IP camera during the forecast period and more than 26 percent will have a home security system, said Parks. Citing Samsung products, Parks analyst Tom Kerber said consumers are bringing smart TVs and appliances into their homes, “often without understanding the full extent of their capabilities." Those capabilities will come into play as consumers adopt other smart home devices such as smart lighting and IP cameras, said Kerber. Parks predicts unit sales of IP cameras will approach 6 million this year, including 3.2 million first-time sales. By 2017, the number of replacement or additional IP camera sales will exceed the number of first-time sales, it said. Currently, roughly a fifth of U.S. broadband households own a smart home device, and more than 40 percent plan to buy one before year-end, said the firm. Parks expects more than 30 million households to have a security system by 2019, most professionally monitored. The category will see “steady growth through 2020 as interactive services and home controls extend the value proposition of home security,” Kerber said.