Amazon overtook Samsung in Q4 2020 to become the market leader in CTV devices. The CTV device market (which includes smart TVs, OTT devices and games consoles) had its best ever quarter at the end of last year, reaching a record 109 million units sold, according to research from Strategy Analytics’ TV Streaming Platforms service.
While COVID-19 had a negative impact on consumer spending elsewhere, streaming devices fared exceptionally well in 2020 as people looked to in-home entertainment during the pandemic. In 2020 sales of CTV units reached 305 million, an annual increase of 7.6 percent. Of those 305 million sales, Smart TVs accounted for 186 million of those and media streamers 81 million, both of which were record figures.
David Watkins, Director, TV Streaming Platforms, commented: “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.”
For the first time in its history, Amazon became the market leader in CTV devices. In Q4 it held a 12 percent share of the market, with sales of 13.2 million devices. Its nearest competitor, and previous market leader, Samsung had a 10 percent market share, and sold 11.9 million devices.
Amazon saw a 45 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in Q4, after it launched a new range of Fire TV streaming devices. Elsewhere, new hardware also helped Sony, who have the third biggest share of the CTV market, the company experienced a 116 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in Q4 after it launched its new PlayStation 5 console in November. Samsung, however, saw only modest growth at two percent and was in all likelihood constrained by the fact the company had no major new hardware launches.
In the streaming market, Amazon and Roku continued to outperform Google and Apple. The two companies combined now account for over 60 percent of the global market.
Edouard Bouffenie, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics said: “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.”
