Worldwide revenues generated by sales of of Internet-connected televisions will reach US$ 29.3bn in 2011, accounting for 58% of global revenues for Internet TV equipment in that year, according to a new report from IMS Research.

“At CES 2010, CE companies appeared to be largely pushing the 3D concept as a feature in their display offerings," said Rebecca Kurlak, author of the report.  "However, a larger part of the picture that wasn’t as heavily addressed is still the growing opportunity to provide consumers with access to more content, and in this case, OTT content.”

Ms. Kurlak continues: “Although many of the TV manufacturers have committed to manufacturing at least 25% of their TV product lines with connectivity in 2010, IMS Research forecasts that 12.5% of 2010 global TVs shipped will have connectivity.  This is mainly due to two factors: 1) TV manufacturers that were interviewed for the study stated that their first half of 2010 sales would largely influence the second half of 2010’s production schedules, and 2) the economy is still in recovery mode, and TV manufacturers may be more optimistic regarding 2010 production schedules than they should be. In fact, IMS believes that 2011 connected TVs shipped will be at the 30% marker, a year later than expected by TV manufacturers.”

As Blu-ray manufacturers have been quick to incorporate content libraries into their products, IMS Research predicts that TV manufacturers will follow suit and start forming content partnerships this year.  Before 3D viewing becomes a necessity in the mid- to long-term future, the research firm believes that consumers will demand access to other avenues of content.