Many 4K TV Owners With Netflix Wrongly Think They're Watching 4K, Says LRG

The average U.S. home owns 2.6 TVs, nearly the same number as was reported five years ago, reported the Leichtman Research Group, pegging the total U.S. TV installed base at 320 million. For the 15th straight year, more than 20 percent of adults said they got a new TV set in the past year, demonstrating that TVs are a “recurring purchase item,” despite the proliferation of screens capable of displaying video, said LRG. 4K TV has grown because of the ongoing purchase of TVs in general and dropping prices for 4K. In 2014, it said, about one in every 200 TV households had a 4K TV, growing to about one in every six households in 2019. Netflix was the most common source cited for watching 4K content, named by 40 percent of respondents with a 4K TV, it said. Only a third of those respondents reported having the Netflix Premium plan, the only tier offering 4K content, suggesting that “a large number of Netflix subscribers may believe that they are watching 4K content when they are not,” it said. Though some consumers may be confused about whether they’re watching various types of 4K content, the study found 59 percent of 4K TV owners strongly agree that the picture quality on a 4K TV makes everything look better even when not watching 4K content, it said, while 7 percent disagreed. Roughly 48 percent of non-4K TV owners planning to get a new TV in the next year said they're very interested in getting a 4K model and 41 percent of current 4K owners said they’re interested in getting another 4K set, it said. Only 11 percent said they're interested in getting an 8K set over a 4K model, said LRG. Among those that bought a TV in the past year, average reported spending was $621 compared with $671 in 2014 and $622 in 2009, it said.