4K in Most US Homes; All TVs Edge Out Smartphones: CTA
Thirty-nine percent of U.S. homes said they were likely to buy consumer tech gear within 12 months, when surveyed early in Q2, reported CTA Thursday. That's an 11-point increase from the same 2020 survey. The association canvassed 2,400 adults online…
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April 9-18, finding 37% plan to buy new smartphones in the next year, compared with 29% who plan to buy new TVs. Ownership of 4K Ultra HD TVs surpassed a majority of U.S. homes for the first time, said CTA. The sets are installed in 52% of TV households, a 16-point increase from a year earlier and the largest growth for any product category surveyed. CTA estimates overall TV ownership at 91% of U.S. homes, edging out smartphones (90%) as the most commonly owned tech device. TV ownership was 98% in 2013 and 97% in 2014, but has been "steadily decreasing over the years as consumers transition to watching content" on their mobile devices, said a spokesperson. The year-over-year decline to 91% in 2021 from 93% in 2020 was within the survey's margin of error of plus or minus 2%, she said. Nielsen had a different take when it pegged TV penetration last summer at 96.2% of U.S. homes, trending 0.1% higher from a year earlier. Nielsen's estimate, its most recent available, was the percentage of total U.S. homes with TVs receiving traditional signals via over-the-air antenna, cable, satellite or broadband.