It’s good to share as the connected device market prepares for growth spurt

A report by the analyst group IDATE reveals connected TVs will account for 63% of the new over-the-top services market by 2020. In addition to that, the global TV services market will amount to €355 billion by 2020, up from €233 billion in 2011. On average, over the next eight years, it means the market is set to grow by 4.7% annually. When you consider the wider economic climate, that’s an ambitious target to reach.

The driving force behind this however will be what the report calls the 'rest of the world' countries, including China, India, Russia and Brazil. These countries will increase their share of the global TV services market from 20% in 2011, to 42% in 2020.

One of the reasons for this growth is the development of on-demand-video services. IDATE’s deputy chief executive, Gilles Fontaine, believes "new on-demand services will increase their share of the global video market from 3% in 2011 to 12% in 2020.”

China and the Asian markets will be of particular interest as they continue to develop. Burgeoning middle classes in China and the modernisation of other economies in the region means there is, in every sense, a whole new market to explore.

We’ve said in the past that we expect to see a sharp curve on the adoption cycle of connected TVs. Consumer take-up stagnated in the early years, partly because the consumer education piece didn’t run parallel to the technology innovation. This is now being addressed and the benefits of connected TVs are already starting to light up living rooms. It’s now up to the industry to continue to develop additional, relevant, TV services to meet the forecasted demand.

The growth of multi-screen iPlayer

As a new iPad owner, one of the biggest advantages I’ve found is the convenience it offers over a laptop – especially for casual use such as watching video online. With an almost 600% increase year-on-year in the number of requests made to iPlayer from tablets, a lot of other people seem to agree with me. For connected TVs, the numbers are even more impressive – a year-on-year increase of over 1000%.

While the majority of requests are still made from PCs, the growth in alternative ways of consuming content isn’t too surprising if you think about the TV-watching experience itself. Watching TV tends to be both casual and social; smart TVs and tablets both offer a more suitable form factor than a laptop for this kind of experience, albeit in different ways. Smart TVs and iPlayer-equipped games consoles enable on-demand viewing to be more social, while tablets offer a better multi-screen experience than laptops due to their weight and form factor.

By making iPlayer available on these devices, the BBC has been able to offer an experience that is closer to that of watching live TV, and they’re now seeing the benefits of this. It’s taken a lot of effort on the part of the BBC to make iPlayer available on so many platforms, but with other broadcasters such as ITV, Channel 4 and Sky offering multi-screen catch-up services the benefits of this strategy are becoming more and more obvious.

Increase in demand for personalised TV services

A recent report, has found that over 70 per cent of UK consumers want to be able to watch what they want, when they want. 39 per cent wish catch-up content was available for longer and 45 per cent would like to be able to watch all the episodes of their favourite shows back to back.

It seems that on demand is in demand, as 74 per cent of viewers claim that they can’t find anything to watch on live TV. Many are feeling overwhelmed by content. The fusion of broadcast and broadband has provided a wealth of new TV services but the result is a content maze that viewers are finding increasingly difficult to navigate.

The survey goes on to say that 39 per cent of those surveyed felt that there were technology and film brands that could do a better job than the existing TV channels. This means that the pressure is on for broadcasters in the coming months, as companies such as Netflix launch in the UK.

As increased connectivity transforms the way we consume and interact with TV, operators and broadcasters need to deliver more choice and a variety of services that enable the viewers to shape how they consume content.

Viewers are ready for the next generation of TV. As we move into 2012 there is a real opportunity here for operators and broadcasters to look ahead and develop personalised services for their viewers so they can get the most out of their TV viewing experience.