1 in 8 Australian households now have a Smart TV

The tube meets the net: more Australians connect their televisions online

1 in 8 Australian households now have a Smart TV—almost a sixfold increase over the last four years, data from Roy Morgan Research shows.

1.125 million homes now contain at least one television with an inbuilt internet connection, from brands including Panasonic, LG, Sony and Samsung.

But as well as Smart TVs, there are now numerous other ways to give regular TVs access to some internet content—and these are becoming more widespread. A year after its launch in 2010, the T-Box from Telstra had reached 2.6% of households, and continued to grow—albeit more slowly—to 4.3% by October 2014. Apple TV’s set-top digital media player has grown from just 1.2% of households in 2012 to 4% now—and with 281,000 Australian consumers intending to buy one within the next year, it’s perhaps set to overtake the T-Box during 2015.

The newest entrant, Google’s Chromecast, launched in Australia in May last year, but within six months had only been integrated into 0.8% of homes.

% of Australian Households with TV technology items

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, November 2013 –October 2014, sample = 16,146 Australians 14+, weighted to Households

2015 looks set to be a big year for TV-related devices and content: 576,000 people intend to purchase a Smart TV, 281,000 intend to buy an Apple TV set-top device and 237,000 plan to get Chromecast within the next 12 months.

Number of Australian consumers intending to buy TV technology items

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, November 2013 –October 2014, sample = 16,146 Australians 14+, weighted to Population

Tim Martin, General Manager – Media, Roy Morgan Research, says: “There’s no doubt Australian television is in for an epic 2015 as television viewing becomes redefined. With the roll-out of the NBN and new streaming services due to be launched, plus continued expected growth for Apple TV and Google Chromecast, Australian TV viewers will be inundated with ways to access the content they want, when they want it.

“Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey tracks Australians’ technology adoption and usage habits to better understand not only which items people own or intend to buy, but how they then use them.”