83% of Smart TVs Connected to Internet, Up From 70% in 2014, Says Parks

Eighty-three percent of smart TV owners connect their set to the internet, up from 70 percent four years ago, Parks Associates reported Tuesday. Smart TV ownership grew from 34 to 53 percent. “Rise of direct-to-consumer offerings and the blurring of lines between pay-TV and [over the top] are leading to increased fragmentation in the viewing experience, where consumers are having to face complex self-curating systems,” said Anthony Smith-Chaigneau, Nagra senior director-product marketing, ahead of a Parks video conference in Marina del Rey, California, next week. Service providers should embrace the cloud, act as aggregators and leverage data, he said.