According to the NPD Group, though adoption of 4K/UltraHD TVs began to ramp up only in 2015, 52% of individuals surveyed said they were aware of the products, and streaming video providers are leading the content charge.
The awareness statistic increases among men and spikes to 73% among consumers who own an Internet-connected TV. Consumer interest is also strong with one-third of individuals saying they are very or somewhat likely to use a 4K UltraHD TV in the future. As with consumer awareness, interest spikes among men and those who own an Internet-connected TV. Additionally, interest is much stronger among Millennials. More than 6 million 4K UHD TVs had been sold through April 2016.
"While sales are spiking and demand is high, 4K UHD TVs remain an early adopter product," said John Buffone, executive director, industry analyst, NPD Connected Intelligence. "Our data shows that just 8% of consumers say they have used a 4K UHD TV. But all of the trends point towards rapid growth during 2016 and beyond."
Along with growing hardware adoption there continues to be more 4K UltraHD content available on TV, Blu-ray disc and from streaming services such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Increased consumer desire for and awareness of 4K streaming video services has accompanied the growing adoption of 4K TVs. Some 32% of individuals surveyed are already aware of 4K streaming services, NPD says. Awareness increases to 42% among 18- 34-year-olds, with 32% also interested in using the services.
"Demand for 4K video is only beginning to proliferate," said Buffone. "Streaming video providers have been leading the market in terms of delivering 4K UHD content, and we expect them to continue to increase their programming array to satisfy growing consumer demand."