Web-connected video devices will exceed world's population by 2017

In 2017 the number of Internet-connected video devices will pass 8 billion, exceeding the global population, according to new data from research firm IHS.

The installed base of Internet-connected devices that can play video — which includes tablets, connected TVs, gaming consoles, smartphones, set-tops, Blu-ray Disc players and PCs — will hit 8.2 billion by 2017, a 90% increase from the 4.3 billion expected out there by the end of the year.

The world’s population is expected to hit 7.4 billion people in 2017, meaning there will be 1.1 Internet-connected video devices for each person.

“On average every human being in the world will possess more than one Internet-connected video device by the year 2017, a major milestone for the electronics market,” said Merrick Kingston, senior analyst of broadband technology at IHS. “We’re quickly approaching a world where the average broadband household contains 10 connected, video-enabled devices. This means that each TV set installed in a broadband-equipped home will be surrounded by three Internet-connected devices.”

The Asia-Pacific region will add 1.9 billion connected devices to the global installed base between 2013 and 2017, double the rate of the already mature North American and Western European regions, according to the report. Sub-Saharan Africa will contribute 145 million net additions to the total installed base during the next four years.

The change in which devices are dominating is dramatic already: In 2005, PCs were 93% of Internet connected video devices. By the end of 2017, they’ll account for 23%. Smartphones and tablets will take up 67%.

“Addressing the full breadth of the device landscape, and recuperating the development cost of doing so, will pose a major challenge for a number of media firms,” Kingston added.