Second-quarter demand headwinds in key regions led to an 8 percent year-over-year drop in global TV shipments, for the biggest drop since Q2 2009 when worldwide demand slumped during the global recession, said IHS Thursday. IHS recorded shipments of 48 million units for the quarter. It attributed most of the decline to slowing growth in sales of LCD TVs, which now account for 99 percent of all TVs shipped. But LCD TVs haven't made up for the lost volume of CRT and plasma TVs, which have largely left the marketplace, said the researcher. Last year was a “robust year for growth,” said analyst Paul Gagnon, with total TV shipments rising 3 percent worldwide and 6 percent in developed regions. TV demand this year has been slowed by economic factors, “particularly the rise in currency prices against the U.S. dollar, which has caused retail prices to increase in emerging markets,” he said. North American demand turned positive in Q2, but the downturn in shipments was felt in Western Europe and Japan among mature markets, he said. The decline was most pronounced in emerging regions: Latin America, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. China saw growth in the first half of 2015, but the momentum is slowing, said Gagnon. A government subsidy program in Mexico that added more than 2 million units in the first half hasn’t been enough to counter the decline in shipments, and there's a “significant amount of weakness out of Brazil,” he said. Asia-Pacific shipments fell more than 9 percent, he said. “Many global brands are shifting to a weaker outlook for the balance of the year, as a result of the broad decline in demand worldwide,” Gagnon said. 4K TV was a bright spot in the global TV market, as unit shipments grew 197 percent year over year in Q2 to reach 6.2 million units, said IHS. The 4K TV growth “is the direct result of increased price erosion and more affordable tiers of 4K models becoming available,” said Gagnon. The top five global TV makers for the quarter were Samsung (29 percent), LG (14 percent), Sony (7 percent), Hisense (6 percent) and TCL (5 percent).

Mobile devices are reshaping the audio market, with smartphones and tablets expected to be 83 percent of all media-enabled CE device shipments by 2018, said an IHS report Thursday. The increasing popularity of Deezer, Pandora, Spotify and other streaming music services, plus a shift to on-the-go listening, is driving the increase in music consumption on smartphones and tablets, said IHS. Total connected audio devices in use -- soundbars, wireless speakers, AV receivers and headphones -- are expected to reach 267 million units by the end of 2018, up from 58 million units in 2014, IHS said. “With the shift to an Android-dominated mobile-device market, audio manufacturers are steadily moving away from the wired-only and Apple-only connections of old, in favor of wireless connectivity as an agnostic and consumer-friendly way to connect their products to tablets and smartphones,” said Paul Erickson, IHS senior analyst. While Bluetooth speakers and headphones have become ubiquitous, the number of Wi-Fi-based, network-connected multiroom speakers has grown, with Sonos continuing to lead that market, said Erickson. “Smartphones and tablets have fundamentally changed modern consumers’ everyday lives, including the way people buy and consume audio content,” he said. “We will soon live in a world where mobile devices are the primary way consumers listen to music -- not only on the go, but also in the home."

Half of U.S. Internet households own a connected TV device, an NPD Group report said Wednesday. The total number of homes with a device that connects a TV to the Internet -- smart TV, videogame console, streaming media player or Blu-ray player -- was 46 million in Q2, up 4 million from the year-ago quarter. Smart TVs are largely responsible for the growth, with 45 percent of TVs sold in the U.S. in Q2 supporting apps, up from 34 percent in the year-ago quarter and 24 percent in Q2 2013, NPD said. The connect rate is also increasing, NPD said, with 69 percent of all installed Internet-capable TVs connected in Q2, up from 61 percent in 2014 and 45 percent in 2013. The increase is due to skyrocketing sales of smart TVs, improved user interfaces and a surge in premium services and programming, analyst John Buffone said. Netflix remained the most-used video service among homes with connected TVs, followed by YouTube, Amazon Prime/Instant Video, Hulu and HBO Go/Now, NPD said. Due to the Go and Now platforms, HBO became the first TV network to reach the over-the-top top five, replacing Crackle, it said. Buffone referred to a “Golden Age of TV where significant investments are being made in developing original series.” Video and TV networks are benefiting from the large pay-TV subscriber base and the “fast-developing over-the-top audience that uses apps on TV,” he said. Collaboration between TV manufacturers and content providers is essential to keep the connected TV ecosystem growing on the device and content sides, he said. NPD surveyed more than 5,000 U.S. consumers age 18 and older during Q2.

More than two-thirds of U.S. broadband households use a health app or portal on a monthly basis, and that jumps to 80 percent for those with a head of household aged 18-24, said Parks Associates research summarized in a Friday news release from the industry researcher. "Connected health devices and apps are starting to open healthcare services to larger populations, but right now, consumers spend less than 1 percent of their time interacting with the healthcare system through hospitals, clinics, doctors, and health coaches," analyst Harry Wang said. Online health services are starting to open new engagement opportunities, and by 2019, millions of households will benefit from a smart home platform that offers technology for safety/independent living, wellness or health, Wang said. Parks is sponsoring the Connected Health Summit Sept. 9-10 in San Diego.

Few over-the-top viewers are using OTT to replace cable, though more pay-TV providers getting into OTT "could start changing the game," Horowitz Research said Tuesday in a report. The report and survey data indicates OTT streaming VOD typically complements traditional pay TV, as 40 percent of Internet users have both multichannel and an OTT subscription VOD service, while only 11 percent have OTT SVOD only and 42 percent have multichannel only. Nearly 80 percent of OTT SVOD users also are multichannel subscribers, Horowitz said. That could be changing, as millennials are far more likely to have just an OTT SVOD service -- 21 percent of them vs. 7 percent among people 35 and up, it said. Fifty-five percent of millennials who are multichannel subscribers say pricing could get them to subscribe to an Internet TV service instead of their current cable or satellite service, vs. 43 percent of people ages 35 and up, Horowitz said. The survey was done online in May among 1,568 broadband Internet users.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. broadband households have privacy and security concerns about connected health and fitness tracking devices, said Parks Associates research. But concern over privacy is higher with other connected devices such as door locks (40 percent) and tablets (42 percent), it said. Smartphone security concerns are near the top of the list, with 41 percent of users worried about security or privacy violations, said Parks. "The connected health industries, device manufacturers, and app developers not only need to ensure they have strong security measures in place but also that consumers are aware of the steps they are taking to protect their data,” said Parks analyst Harry Wang. Some 35 percent of consumers worry that their personal health information won't remain confidential if it's online, said Wang. “With high-profile data hacks making big headlines, consumers are expecting companies to take strong security measures to protect them.”

Following a weak Q2 in which revenue sank from 52 trillion won ($44.3 billion) in 2014 to 48.5 ($40.8 billion) trillion won -- and earnings fell from 6.3 trillion won ($5.4 billion) to 5.7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) -- Samsung expects a price drop on the Galaxy S6 smartphone, the introduction of new models across the board and a boost in TV shipments to produce solid earnings in the second half, it said on an earnings webcast. Samsung said it plans to spark “stagnant premium TV demand” by expanding its premium lineup of Super Ultra HD and standard Ultra HD models, as well as bringing curved TV to a broader market. The company has resolved shortages with the S6 Edge smartphone and plans to “adjust prices” of the S6 and S6 edge according to market circumstances. The company also will launch a larger display smartphone model, it said. Samsung shipped roughly 10 million LCD TVs in Q3 and expects a “high-single-digit increase” in Q3. Meanwhile, LG reported Wednesday that net income plummeted from 412 billion ($351 million) won in Q2 2014 to 226 billion won ($193 million) while sales tumbled from 15.1 trillion won ($12.9 billion) to 13.9 trillion won ($11.8 billion) in the 2015 quarter. LG attributed the 18 percent sales drop to a “weak global TV market” in markets including the Commonwealth of Independent States, Latin America and Europe. LG expects “intensifying competition” in the TV market to continue “for a while.” The company said it plans to boost profitability with a stronger mix and by being more competitive in the premium segment. Smartphone sales declined in the South Korea domestic market on weaker demand, said LG. Smartphone sales in North America improved by 36 percent in the mass-market segment, it said.

Nearly 75 percent of global consumers surveyed favor downloading over streaming when planning to watch content remotely, Arris said in its 2015 Consumer Entertainment Index released Wednesday. Arris interviewed 19,000 individuals from 19 countries -- 1,000 from each nation. The research found that almost 60 percent of consumers watch TV on mobile devices, up 6 percent from 2014, and traditional broadcast TV leads over-the-top (OTT) TV services in global popularity by 3 percent in 2015. In the U.S. and Canada, broadcast TV popularity dropped one percentage point from 2014 and OTT popularity fell two percentage points from the year prior, with broadcast still leading OTT in both countries by 6 percent, the report said. Arris also found that 63 percent of respondents worldwide reported issues with Wi-Fi connectivity in the home, and 78 percent consider having high-speed Internet connection in rooms used to watch TV either "vital" or "very important." U.S. consumers surveyed reported an average of 7.2 Wi-Fi-connected devices in the home, compared with the global average of 6, and 53 percent of surveyed Americans said they encountered Wi-Fi connectivity issues at least occasionally at home.

Roughly 12.9 billion mobile biometric apps -- generating nearly $68 billion in revenue -- are forecast to be downloaded to smart mobile devices during the seven-year period through 2020, said a report from Acuity Market Intelligence. The segment will grow from less than $100 million in 2014 to more than $21.7 billion in 2020, it said. Acuity estimates more than 5.4 billion biometric smart device apps will be downloaded in 2020, and 4.8 billion biometric mobile devices will be in circulation in 2020, with most containing multiple apps from multiple sources. Emerging, complex relationships among identity, mobility and commerce are “redefining global communication and commerce ecosystems and require frictionless, yet highly reliable security” that biometrics can deliver, said Acuity analyst Maxine Most. Mobile biometric apps can operate independently, or they can leverage embedded biometrics or other biometric apps, she said.

Nearly half of American TV and video consumers watch content through over-the-top providers, said a survey released Friday by CALinnovates. Forty-four percent identified as currently using streaming video services, including 57 percent of individuals aged 18-29 and 63 percent of parents with a child under 17. Forty-three percent of consumers canvassed said they believe cable or satellite TV services will be widely used in 2020, and more than 60 percent of consumers ages 18-24 plan to continue to subscribe to cable or satellite TV, the survey found. Zogby Analytics canvassed more than 2,100 consumers March 3-6, CALinnovates said.