Global sales of connected TV devices reached new heights in the fourth quarter and Amazon was at the forefront, according to new data from Strategy Analytics.
The research company said global sales set a new record with 109.1 million units and that Amazon became market leader for the first time with sales of 13.2 million devices and a market share of 12.1%. Amazon knocked Samsung – which sold 11.9 million units for a 10.9% market share – into second place.
Overall, connected TV device sales in 2020 – smart TVs, streamers and gaming consoles – reached 305.3 million units, an annual increase of 7.6%.
“Q4 is always a strong period for home entertainment products, and in spite of the pandemic 2020 didn’t disappoint. Demand for connected TV devices remained strong throughout the holiday period as consumers in most major economies preferred to enjoy streaming video services on their big screens,” said David Watkins, director of TV streaming platforms for Strategy Analytics, in a statement.
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Strategy Analytics said 2020 sales of both smart TVs (186 million) and media streamers (81 million) reached new records. The company said TCL performed particularly well in smart TVs in 2020 and moved into second place behind Samsung and ahead of LG. In the connected TV streaming device category, Amazon and Roku extended their lead over both Google and Apple and together accounted for more than 60% of the streamer market.
“Amazon has had great success with its Fire TV Stick 4K, which became the world’s best-selling digital media streamer device in 2020. However, the market remains fragmented overall and there is still a long way to go in the battle to build global-scale TV streaming platforms during the 2020s,” said Edouard Bouffenie, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, in a statement.