When people talk about the streaming video landscape, they generally mention smart TVs and dedicated streaming devices like Apple TV. But a recent report from BI Intelligence finds that video game consoles are actually way more common in households- more than half of U.S households own one of these devices. And they're extremely popular not just for gaming, but for streaming video.
Unsurprisingly, this is especially true of teens and young adults.
Nearly 40% of 14- to 30-year-olds with a gaming console device use it to stream video. Interestingly, 14- to 24-year-olds are more likely to stream content from services like YouTube than online TV and movies from services such as Netflix.
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Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:
- Video game consoles are the most common devices capable of streaming internet video to televisions, according to our new analysis of the installed base in the connected TV market. Streaming-capable video game consoles account for 54% of the global installed base of TV streaming devices worldwide. Internet-connected smart TVs (with a 38% share), and dedicated streaming devices (like Apple TV and Roku, with an 8% share) are still in the minority.
- While the young lead for streaming on gaming consoles, the activity isn't just restricted to the very young. A Deloitte survey showed that video game console owners in their teens and twenties were the most likely to list streaming video to TV as one of their top activities, but the activity was surprisingly popular among older demographics, too.
- Video game consoles come with far more computational horsepower than typical streaming devices and smart TVs, which allows developers to create immersive and unique connected TV experiences. For example, viewers can click through baseball stats as they stream a baseball game on the Major League Baseball app, or they can use Twitch to play video games side-by-side with footage of other players navigating the same game.
In full, the report:
- Looks at how many households own gaming consoles and what percentage of them use the device for TV streaming.
- Breaks down total sales of the most popular gaming consoles.
- Forecasts 2014 sales of gaming consoles and the most popular dedicated streaming devices.
- Examines the demographics of streaming TV to console devices.
- Explores what advantages gaming consoles offer for immersive streaming experiences as compared to smart TVs and devices like the Apple TV.