How Smart TV and Connected TV Platforms Measure Up at the End of 2021

Even though the world began to open up and people started going outside more in 2021, consumers are still streaming more than ever before. Time spent streaming grew globally 21% year-over-year in the third quarter, and up 2% in North America, according to data from Conviva. Smart TVs, like Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Vizio are continuing to see massive gains over external connected TV devices like a Chromecast or Apple TV. After nearly doubling their market share in 2020, smart TVs were responsible for nearly all the growth among big screens in the third quarter, up 64%. Connected TV devices saw a lag in growth, gaining just 5% year-over-year. Gaming consoles like PlayStation and Xbox saw a decrease in viewership, dropping 1%. Since we last looked at the smart and connected TV landscape, many of the biggest players have filled out their OTT portfolios, striking deals with streaming services including HBO Max and Peacock, and adding newcomer Discovery+. And as new entrants like Comcast’s XClass TV and Amazon’s in-house Fire TVs join the market, Adweek broke down just what each of these platforms has to offer. Roku Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 31%.Available as: streaming device, smart TV (manufacturing partners include TCL, Hisense, Phillips, Sanyo).In-house content offering: The Roku Channel. Roku had another record year, hitting 56.4 million active accounts in the third quarter, despite seeing a slowdown in account growth. The company still controls the market when it comes to streaming devices, taking up a 31% share of big screen connected TV viewing globally, down slightly from 32% in 2020. In North America, Roku takes up a 39% share. The company has every major OTT service on its platform, and just ended a lengthy standoff with Google to bring YouTube TV back to Roku. This year, Roku debuted Roku Originals on The Roku Channel. The former Quibi shows were a bright spot for the company, and heading into 2022 Roku plans to double-down on its original content strategy. Now, Roku Originals are some of the most popular programs on the platform, with over a third of overall Roku Channel viewers watching the content. The connected TV platform also released its first original movie this month, Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas, following that show’s cancellation by NBC earlier this year. In addition to its physical TV partnerships, Roku also sells connected TV devices that provide the same interface and apps as the TV itself, including multiple streaming sticks with HD, 4K and HDR options. Amazon Fire TV Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 17%.Available as: streaming device, smart TV (both with manufacturing partners including Insignia, Pioneer and Toshiba, and Amazon-built TVs).In-house content offering: IMDb TV. Amazon’s share of big screen viewership fell slightly, down to 17% from 20%. Like Roku, the platform exceeds 50 million monthly active users around the world, and its streaming sticks are among the most popular on the market. The company is now breaking into manufacturing its own Amazon-built Fire TVs for the first time, launching the Fire TV Omni series and 4-series. The move differentiates the company from the likes of platforms like Roku and Android, which license out their technology to manufacturing partners. Amazon also expanded its partnership with Best Buy in September with a new lineup of Fire TVs from Pioneer and Toshiba. The companies now offer more than 80 different smart TVs with Fire TV built-in across the U.S. and Canada. The Fire TV platform now carries every major OTT provider, adding NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock in June. Its ad-supported platform IMDb TV first launched in January 2019, and like The Roku Channel, also carries original content, including an upcoming series reboot of the 1999 movie Cruel Intentions. Throughout the year, Amazon rolled out a new Fire TV UI to its smart TVs, Fire Sticks and soundbars that featured a new home screen, a more central navigation menu and a new “Find” tab, as well as the option for up to six personalized streaming profiles. When it comes to connected TV devices, this fall Amazon debuted a new Fire TV Stick 4K Max that it said is 40% more powerful than the previous version, and is also the first Fire Stick to support WiFi 6. Samsung TV Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 12%.Available as: smart TV.In-house content offering: Samsung TV Plus. The third-largest player on the market saw its share of connected TV viewing time grow 3% year-over-year, hitting 12%. The smart TV company has deals with all major OTT offerings, most recently adding Peacock in June. Samsung has its own in-house content offering, Samsung TV Plus, now with over 190 ad-supported channels. The offering is the No. 2 most-watched AVOD streaming service on Samsung smart TVs, and 90% of Samsung TV Plus viewers stream directly from their smart TVS. Other major smart TV players Android TV Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 6%.Available as: smart TV (manufacturers include Sony, Hisense and TCL).In-house content offering: none. LG Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 6%.Available as: smart TV.In-house content offering: LG Channels. Vizio Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 3%.Available as: smart TV.In-house content offering: WatchFree. Vizio rounded out its OTT offerings this year, adding HBO Max in September and Discovery+ in December. The company went public in March, and wants investors to know it can compete with connected TV providers like Roku, Amazon and Google as well—especially as the number of U.S. pay TV households continues to decline, and time spent viewing on connected TV platforms skyrockets. Other connected TV devices Apple TV Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 5%.Available as: connected TV device.In-house content offering: Apple TV+. Chromecast Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 5%.Available as: connected TV device.In-house content offering: none. PlayStation, Xbox Share of big screen connected TV viewing: 5% each.Available as: gaming console.In-house content offering: none. Viewing time on gaming consoles went down by 1% year-over-year, down the second quarter in a row after becoming the first device to lose share in years. Not too much has changed for Apple TV and Chromecast, with both holding a relatively steady market share of 5%. Here’s How All the Smart TV and Connected TV Platforms Measure Up