NPD Group
Only 50 Percent of Homes in the Continental US Receive True Broadband Internet Access, NPD Group Finds
The new Broadband America report from The NPD Group reveals that only 50 percent of homes in the continental US have true broadband speed of 25 Mbps download or higher. In fact, 34 percent of homes receive internet access at speeds of less than 5Mbps, including 15 percent that do not have any internet access. Vermont, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Mississippi are among the least connected states, while New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, and California are among the most connected. In Vermont only 24 percent of homes receive broadband speeds, while in New Jersey 65 percent of homes do.
Thirty-One Percent of U.S. Households Lack a Broadband Connection
Despite the growing popularity of connected devices in the home, including smart devices, streaming media players, and smart TVs, 31 percent of US households do not currently have a broadband connection (25Mbps per second download speed or greater). This equates to roughly 100 million consumers, totaling nearly one-third of the U.S.
56 Percent of US Millennial Tablet Owners Use Their Device in Conjunction with TV Viewing
Tablets, especially for younger owners, are an extension of the TV viewing experience. According to the new Connected TV App Discovery Report from NPD Connected Intelligence while watching TV, 56 percent of US tablet owners age 18-34 use their tablet for activities related to the TV program they are watching or for other programming related activities.
This compares to just 41 percent among all tablet owners age 18 and older. The top three TV-related tablet activities among Millennials are; searching for programing to watch (34 percent), social media engagement related to a TV program (31 percent) and learning more about the program they are viewing (30 percent).
Even more tablet owners age 18-34 say they want to use their device in conjunction with TV viewing in the future and social media is a driving factor. Among Millennial tablet owners, 44 percent said they would consider using their device in the future for social media activity related to a TV program making it the number one way this age group wants to engage while watching TV.
Replacement TV Purchase Decisions Driven by Picture and Sound Quality Despite Introduction of New Features
Consumers worldwide still consider picture quality, sound quality, price, and ease of use to be most important to their upcoming replacement TV purchase decisions. According to the NPD DisplaySearch 2014 Global TV Replacement Study, picture quality is the most important feature for consumers in mature markets making an upcoming replacement TV purchase, with an importance index of 148.
Sound quality follows closely, with an index of 132 (the index compiles responses rating a driver “important” or “most important”; scores above 100 indicate relatively high importance). Price and ease of use ranked nearly as high as sound quality in mature markets, but in emerging markets having a good warranty or service plan ranked higher than both of those.