Welcome to the latest edition of State of the Screens.  

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Onward,

Michael Beach
CEO, Cross Screen Media

Where the TVOS Wars Stand in 2025

Eight big questions re: the TVOS wars:
1) How many TVs are sold each year?
2) How many TVs does each household have?
3) How often do we replace TVs?
4) How have our TVs grown in size?
5) How do TV manufacturers make money?
6) Which TVOS has the largest footprint?
7) How large is the streaming TV ad market?
8) When will streaming TV surpass linear TV in ad spend?

How many TVs are sold each year?

Quick answer: 37M TVs were sold in the U.S. last year. Another 28M streaming media players were sold.

Share of active TVs in the United States (% of total) according to Kagan:
1) Smart TVs - 236M (65%)
2) Non-smart TV’s - 127M (35%)
3) Total - 363M

Share of streaming TV devices ( % of total) in the U.S. according to Kagan:
1) Smart TVs - 236M (67%)
2) Streaming media players (SMP) - 118M (33%)
3) Total - 355M

How many TVs does each household have?

Quick math on TV’s per household:
1) 125M households with a TV
2) 363M total TVs
3) 2.9 TVs per household

How often do we replace TVs?

Quick answer: The average TV lasts 7 years.

Quick math on TV replacement:
1) 6.6-year average lifespan for a TV
2) 15% are replaced every year
3) 355M installed in the U.S.
4) 54M replaced each year

How have our TVs grown in size?

Average TV size according to the Consumer Technology Association:
1) 2002 - 27 inches
2) 2012 - 38 inches
3) 2022 - 50 inches

How do TV manufacturers make money?

Quick answer: Advertising.  Vizio is a great example of a company that generates ≈ 100% of its profit from advertising vs. selling TVs.

A word from our sponsor: In my book, Screen Wars: Win the Battle for Attention with Convergent TV, I explain how winning the TVOS wars is about making money from ads rather than TVs.

Which TVOS has the largest footprint?

Share of smart TV OS install base in the United States, according to Kagan:
1) Roku OS (Roku) - 25%
2) Fire TV (Amazon) - 17%
3) Tizen Smart Hub (Samsung) - 14%
4) Android TV (Alphabet) - 14%
5) WebOS (LG) - 9%
6) SmartCast (Vizio) - 7%
7) Apple TVOS (Apple) - 4%
8) Xumo (Comcast/Charter) - 2%
9) Pre-Tizen Smart Hub (Samsung) - 2%
10) Others - 6%

Share of streaming TV ad impressions according to Pixalate:
1) Roku - 39%
2) Fire TV - 15%
3) Samsung - 13%
4) Apple - 12%
5) LG - 8%

Reminder: Winning the TVOS wars has three steps:
1) TV manufacturers (OEMs) use your OS
2) Consumers purchase TVs with that OS
3) Consumers spend most of their streaming time on your OS vs. another device (Roku, etc.)

Why this matters: Ad impressions are a better way to see who is winning because they show where people are watching. For example, Roku has 63% more devices than Samsung. But when we look at ad impressions, Roku is doing even better — they get 200% more ad views, and people spend 223% more time watching Roku’s FAST channel.

Who is growing faster: Samsung is growing faster in terms of streaming devices and share of ad impressions, but Roku’s FAST channel advantage has widened over the past year.

How large is the streaming TV ad market?

Quick answer: $33B

Flashback: The 2025 Video Ad Market

U.S. convergent TV ad spending (YoY growth) according to eMarketer:
1) 2021 - $17B (↑ 54%)
2) 2022 - $20B (↑ 19%)
3) 2023 - $23B (↑ 17%)
4) 2024 - $29B (↑ 23%)
5) 2025 - $33B (↑ 16%)
6) 2026 - $38B (↑ 13%)
7) 2027 - $42B (↑ 12%)
8) 2028 - $47B (↑ 11%)

When will streaming TV surpass linear TV in ad spend?

Quick answer: According to eMarketer, streaming TV will surpass linear TV advertising by 2028, which aligns with our prediction from two years ago.

The streaming decade in four steps:
1) 2025 - Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in total reach
2) 2026 - Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in time spent
3) 2028 - Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in ad spend
4) 2030 - Streaming TV surpasses linear TV in ad impressions