More than 50% of households around the world will have smart TVs by the year of SA:2026.

According to the Strategy Analytics research report, by the end of 2020, more than 665 million households (equivalent to 34% of global households) had smart TVs. By 2026, that number will rise to 51%, and 1.1 billion households will have smart TVs. In 2020, smart TV sales grew 7.4 per cent to 186 million units, accounting for 79 per cent of total flat panel TV sales.

North America saw the strongest sales growth over the past year, as consumers spent more time at home due to Covid-19 restrictions, and government stimulus spending boosted spending on home entertainment products, the report said.

In 2020, Samsung became the world's leading manufacturer of smart TVs for the ninth consecutive year in terms of annual sales, while TCL overtook LG, to become second for the first time. At the same time, the smart TV market continues to integrate around some TV streaming platforms or operating systems. Samsung's Tizen is far ahead, and major third-party software platforms, such as Android TV and Roku TV operating system, have also made strong progress in recent years. The four smart TV operating systems accounted for more than 50% of total sales in 2020, up from 33% in 2015.

Edouard Bouffenie, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics connected Home device Services, said: "Smart TVs are standard for most flat panel TVs sold today, so as consumers replace old TVs with smart versions, household penetration of smart TVs will inevitably continue to grow. Because smart functionality is no longer a differentiation factor, but a necessary factor, smart TV manufacturers have to choose between maintaining their own software and application ecosystems or licensing software platforms from third-party partners. Although many vendors have decided to work with Google's Android TV and Roku to avoid the ongoing cost of maintaining their own platforms. But several brands, including Samsung, Vizio and LG, are acting alone and hope to profit from the fast-growing connected TV advertising business. "

David Watkins, vice president of media and smart home practice at Strategy Analytics, said, "the use of smart TVs is growing and is becoming the platform of choice for access to online video content. However, the current situation of home connected TV is very complex, and consumers may have a variety of devices to choose from. Given the different viewing habits among different family members, it is clear that TV streaming platform providers face major challenges in promoting participation and ensuring TV audience retention. Smart TV operating system providers must influence the journey of TV viewers by improving content discovery capabilities, advanced analysis and advertising platforms, and developing intuitive and user-friendly UI. "