More than 78% of global Super Bowl viewing time was on a big-screen TV, reported Conviva Tuesday. Of that subset, Roku-equipped TVs led those of other platforms with 36.3% of viewing time, with Amazon Fire TV second (19.4%) and Samsung TV third (12.8%), it said. Apple TV had 6.6%, Xbox at 4.5%, LG TVs 4.4%, while Vizio TV, Android TV and PlayStation each took about 3% share. Chromecast had 1.3% viewing time, said the report. Mobile phones had 13.9% of viewing time, desktops 5.4% and tablets 2%, it said.
The Sharp TV brand will return to the U.S. with HD and 4K TVs integrating the Roku TV platform, said Roku Monday. Sharp Home Electronics President Jim Sanduski, in a statement, called the collaboration with Roku a “winning combination for our consumers.” Sanduski declined Monday to comment on additional plans for premium Sharp TVs in the U.S., saying he would respond to questions after the company’s announcement Tuesday. Sharp told us in May 2019 it hoped to return to the U.S. market with branded 8K and Aquos-branded 4K TVs, but it scrapped plans when it was unable to make deadlines for the holiday season, Sanduski told us before CES 2020 (see 2001030029). At the time, the Foxconn subsidiary studied the market and had talks with retailers, but cutthroat pricing in 4K TV scared the company off, said Sanduski. He cited “aggressive price drops” that began in spring and continued through fall. “At the end of the day, looking at the market, we couldn’t find a path of profitability,” he said then. Sharp-branded TVs were last in the U.S. market under a five-year 2016 trademark and licensing agreement with Hisense in which the Chinese TV maker produced and sold Sharp- and Aquos-branded TVs. That agreement was terminated two years early in 2019 (see 1905100067). Details and pricing of Sharp Roku TVs will be released later, the companies said.
LG Electronics is the first TV brand to develop a smart TV app for Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud game-streaming service, said LG Friday. It’s available in beta in the LG Content Store on select 2021 LG 4K OLED, QNED Mini LED and NanoCell TVs running webOS. Thirty-five games will be available initially in 80 markets, LG said.
Amazon launched X-Ray for Thursday Night Football (TNF) on Prime Video for the Thursday NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. The feature gives viewers real-time access to live statistics, insights and enhanced replays, Amazon said. For the TNF version of X-Ray, Amazon added a fan-polling feature with multiple-choice questions asking viewers to predict such things as who will score first or who will throw for the most yards in a half. Poll results show how others voted. The feature is available only on Android devices at launch; it’s due to expand to other devices and sports properties next year, Amazon said.
Samba TV is “transforming” smart TVs “into a platform for our customers,” including brands, agencies, content programmers, publishers and measurement and advertising vendors, “to build attentive, engaged audiences,” said the company in an S-1 registration statement Tuesday at the SEC for an initial public offering of common stock. Samba’s AI-driven “content identification software” is embedded in smart TVs sold by “leading OEM brands across the globe,” it said. “Through our software, we form direct relationships with millions of viewers, who provide us consent to collect their viewership data. Using the data we collect, as well as data we license, we provide customers with critical tools to optimize how they plan, buy and measure their advertising campaigns to reach their preferred audiences.” Traditional TV audiences "watched a limited selection of content available on a broadcaster’s linear programming schedule, which included advertisements seen by all viewers regardless of their interests," said the filing. "With the development of on-demand services, today’s viewers enjoy more video choices than ever as content consumption rapidly spreads across a growing set" of broadcast, over-the-top and streaming "platforms, formats and devices," it said. Samba generated revenue of $82.8 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, up nearly 24% from the same 2020 period, said the S-1. August Capital Management is Samba’s largest institutional investor with 6.51 million shares, said the filing. Co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin is its largest individual shareholder with 4.17 million shares. Samba has applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SMBA.”
About 71% of U.S. TV households have a live pay-TV service, down from 82% five years ago and 87% a decade ago, reported Leichtman Research Group Tuesday. Thirty-seven percent of TVs in use have a traditional pay-TV provider’s set-top box, down from 58% in 2016. Live pay-TV viewing skews older, with 77% of viewers over 45 years old having a pay-TV service vs. 64% 18-44, LRG said. Forty-one percent of adults who moved in the past year don’t have a pay-TV service, higher than in previous years; 30% of nonsubscribers had a pay-TV service within the past three years; and 34% never had one. Just over a third of renters don’t have a pay-TV service, vs. a quarter of homeowners, LRG said. A quarter of adults agree it's OK to use a friend’s log-in passwords to watch live TV; 40% for ages 18-34. The September-October survey had 1,200 online respondents and about 800 via phone.
Unity bowed the Unity Metacast real-time 3D sports platform for creating and delivering interactive content to consumers. It partnered with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to collaborate on R&D of potential uses for the platform within UFC content, said the company Tuesday. Unity Metacast uses volumetric technology, which captures, views and interacts with real-world subjects -- including moving people and static objects -- in 3D. The content can be viewed from any angle, in real time, giving audiences a sense they're present, said the company. Metacast will power an interactive second-screen experience for fans, enhanced storytelling tools for broadcasters, and data analytics for teams, coaches and athletes, Unity said.
Growth in connected TV households slowed to 1.2% in Q2, with 85% of broadband households now using CTV, TDG emailed Thursday. Broadband households grew 1.35 million in Q2 2020 and by 900,000 a year later. “When products and services near saturation, growth declines to the low single digits and the market becomes a zero-sum game,” said TDG President Michael Greeson. Penetration expansion will come in small increments within the home to additional rooms, he said. In CTV households, some 83% of living/family rooms have the devices vs. 77% a year ago, while CTVs in master bedrooms grew from 41% to 50%, and 22% to 28% in second bedrooms. As consumers upgrade primary TVs, they typically move replaced models to secondary rooms, he said.
TCL extended its relationship with Activision, saying Wednesday it’s the official TV brand partner for Call of Duty: Vanguard that’s due to drop in November. The TV maker highlighted gaming-oriented features of its HDMI 2.1-equipped Mini LED and QLED TVs, including 120-Hz refresh rate, variable refresh rate, auto low latency mode and enhanced audio return channel.
Amazon didn’t respond Friday to our queries about a Business Insider report (behind paywall) saying the e-commerce giant is planning to release its first line of branded Amazon Fire TVs in 55-75-inch screen sizes "as soon as October." The report also referenced "logistical bottlenecks." Amazon has partnered with Toshiba on TVs incorporating the Amazon Fire TV operating system; many Insignia TVs, Best Buy’s private-label brand, are also Fire TV models, but it would be the first time Amazon sold its own branded TV, pitting the e-tailer against tier one and other brands sold on Amazon.com. Amazon sells a line of AmazonBasics TVs in India in 50- ($507) and 55-inch ($589) screen sizes. TCL is reportedly one of the companies manufacturing the Amazon TVs for the U.S. market. TCL didn't respond to questions Friday.