Nielsen Reports on the Evolution of Consumer Devices

Over that past 15+ years, the number of consumer devices and services that consumers have access to have grown exponentially. One thing is clear: consumers continue to accept a multitude of viewing options and take full advantage of the amazing quality content and multiple ways to access it.

In a recent Nielsen analysis, they reported that in December 2001, nine out of 10 U.S. households had a VCR. Today, that number has fallen to 0.2%. Whereas VCRs tanked, video game consoles and DVD players either grew or maintained their penetration levels. Meanwhile, other consumer devices and services that came to light in the past decade have grown and continue to grow quickly:

• Smartphones (89%)
• Personal computers (79%)
• Tablets (53%)
• Subscriptions video on-demand (62%)
• Internet-connected devices (36%)
• Smart TVs (35%)

In the past four years, the percentage of broadband-only homes in the U.S. has more than tripled. Nielsen’s analysis demonstrated that a diversity in consumers is driving the growth of broadband-only (BBO), over-the-air (OTA) and virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs).