Streaming Device Wars: Smart TV Viewing Time Surges, Dongles See First-ever Decline

The growing popularity of smart TVs is starting to have an impact on the usage of streaming dongles and other TV-connected devices: Global viewership of streaming devices declined by 2% between Q4 2020 and Q4 2021, according to a new report from streaming analytics company Conviva. Smart TVs saw their usage grow by 37% during the same time frame. Not all device-makers were equally affected by the surge of smart TV viewing.

“Everybody is in a hyper-competitive mode right now,” said Conviva President and CEO Keith Zubchevich. “You’re seeing a lot of market share shift because competition is increasing.”