New CEA Study Shows Strong Demand for Internet-Connected Television Sets

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) released a study, Wednesday, which it says shows that demand for Internet-connected television sets is growing rapidly. According to the study, entitled "Net-Enabled Video: Early Adopters Only?," around half of prospective TV buyers say that they are likely to purchase an Internet-connected TV; nearly half (48%) of US adults who go online would use their Internet-enabled TV to find out more information on upcoming shows or to identify a song that played during a show; and 44% would also use it to find out more information about a show's actors. Survey respondents also cited having anytime-access to content and being able to access the Internet and television broadcasts together as the top benefits of an Internet-enabled TV. "As we saw at the 2009 International CES, Internet-enabled devices are taking the consumer technology experience to the next level, and nowhere is this more pronounced than with television," Shawn DuBravac, CEA's economist and director of research, said in a prepared statement. "Consumers want more from their TV experience and marrying traditional television with Internet access is providing the next frontier of the television experience."

The new CEA study also found that most adults are already online while watching TV. According to the study, around 30% of "online adults" say they always or usually surf the Web while watching television, and another 32% say they sometimes do. In addition, the study found that consumers are increasingly willing to shift online activities to the TV: watching online video has the highest potential conversion rate (62%), the study claims, followed by weather updates (59%) and online games (57%). "Consumers are already using the Internet while they watch TV," DuBravac continued. "The next frontier is to create a seamless experience bringing the two together. Consumers want a variety of content that they can access anytime. An Internet-enabled TV is perfectly positioned to provide consumers with exactly what they are looking for in their next television experience."

The study, which was designed and formulated by CEA Market Research, was conducted last December.