New high end internet enabled ‘smart TVs’ are fast growing in popularity with 5% of UK households now admitting to owning one.

Despite initial ambivalence to ‘turfing’, which has long been familiar to users who have connected their video game consoles, Media centres or laptops to their televisions, 65% of owners now claim to have used the internet connection on their smart TV, according to new research by Ofcom.

TV sales traditionally spike before the Olympics, and according to Ofcom research, it is anticipated that at least 38 million adults in the UK will tune into the London 2012 Olympic Games on TV. Still 47% of users say they are unconcerned by a TV’s web-browsing capabilities when making their purchase.

The physical size of the average TV screen is also growing – more than 35% of TVs sold in the UK in Q1 2012 were larger than 33 inches. This compares with just 1% of TVs of these sizes that were sold in 2001.

One quarter of working people plan to follow the Games while at work, with 25% planning to watch or listen to the Games during office hours – another issue that will put some strain on corporate networks.

London 2012 is expected to be defined by these new technologies, such as tablets, smartphones and smart TVs. 53% of adults believe that these technologies will make accessing coverage easier, while around one fifth (19%) said they are likely to follow developments on many different devices.

Social networking sites will also be used by some viewers to keep tabs on results and medal tables, with over one quarter (26%) of respondents claiming that social networking sites will make following the Games easier.

KEY TV STATS

– UK viewers watched an average of four hours of TV per day in 2011, around the same as 2010 but an increase on the 3.7 hours recorded in 2004. Almost all (96%) of UK homes were able to receive digital TV by Q1 2012 as digital switchover enters its final phase.

– Over a third (37%) of UK adults with home internet watch online catch-up TV. Over half (51%) of those with a smart TV say they have done this.

– Total UK TV industry revenues increased by 4.9% year on year in 2011, reaching £12.3bn. This was driven by increases in subscriptions (up 8.3%) and advertising (up 2.1%).