Nineteenth-Annual CONNECTIONS(TM) Conference Addresses Internet of Things and the Connected Consumer

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - May 19, 2015) - Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates, today is welcoming over 600 industry executives to the 19^th-annual CONNECTIONS™ in the opening session "Defining the Connected Home: Entertainment, Security, Health, Smart Home," where he will discuss the role of the connected consumer in the Internet of Things (IoT). The conference, May 19-21 in at the Hyatt San Francisco, features keynote speakers from Comcast's Xfinity Home, Panasonic, Nest, and Verizon and over 100 speakers from the connected CE, broadband, software, security, and home management industries.

"New OTT services have flooded the U.S. market in the last six months, forcing pay-TV providers to rethink their on-demand services," Sikes said. "Providers are also looking at smart home services as sources of new revenue. Comcast just announced it is expanding its smart home offerings to include support for smart locks and thermostats, and we will be highlighting these new kinds of partnerships throughout CONNECTIONS™."

Parks Associates research shows 66% of U.S. broadband households have at least one Internet-connected CE device and on average they have over seven devices. CONNECTIONS™ addresses the growth potential for the connected consumer and the Internet of Things, defined as the range of networked products and services capable of sending and receiving data, which encompasses consumer-focused devices and services within the smart home, connected entertainment, connected health and fitness, and connected cars markets.

"The smart home opens up many new opportunities for creating new, compelling services through partnerships," said Tom Kerber, Director, Research, Home Controls and Energy, Parks Associates. "The merger of entertainment, security, and smart home services is beginning to take shape."

"At NRG and Reliant we are passionate about powering people and creating personalized home automation solutions for every customer," said Scott Burns, Senior Director of Innovation for Reliant, an NRG company. "With more and more consumers using mobile devices, the smart home is more accessible than ever and includes solutions that allow customers to connect from anywhere at any time. We are taking advantage of these technologies to help customers control how and when they use electricity as well as other essential functions both at home and on the go."

Parks Associates will highlight consumer adoption and intentions for connected entertainment, tech support, smart home, digital entertainment and media, platform usage, and more throughout the event.

• 27% of U.S. broadband households now own a streaming media device, and nearly 90% of these households have these devices currently connected to the Internet.
• One-fourth of U.S. broadband households find value-added monitoring services very appealing.
• One-third of broadband households plan to purchase a smart home device in the next 12 months.
• 57% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to a subscription OTT video service.
• 85% of U.S. broadband households took action to reduce their energy usage or costs in last 12 months.
• Approximately 50% of U.S. broadband households have privacy or security concerns about smart home devices.
  
  

CONNECTIONS™ Sponsors include Icontrol Networks, CEL, Assurant Solutions, Asurion, HP, Lowe's, Qualcomm, Resolution Products, ROC-Connect, Support.com, Affinegy, Alarm.com, Ayla Networks, EVRYTHNG, INSTEON, PlanetEcosystems, PlumChoice, Prodea, Tyco, ULE Alliance, WeatherBug Home, Z-Wave, Greenwave Systems, Radialpoint, Zipato, AirTies, Amdocs, MivaTek, and Nortek Security & Control.

Media and organizations supporting the event include CEDIA, TWICE, AE Ventures, Appliance DESIGN Magazine, Best Web Design Agencies, BestSEOs.com, Bluetooth SIG, BoogarLists, Cablefax, Conference Guru, Connected Home World, CTIA, Digital Trends, Entertainment Merchants Association, FierceCable, FierceMobileIT, FierceOnlineVideo, FierceTelecom, FierceWireless, HDTV Magazine, Home Energy Magazine, Home Gateway Initiative, HomePlug Alliance, HomeToys.com, Innovation & Tech Today, IOT Insights, IoT Perspectives, Light Reading, Mobile Monday, MoCA, NexTV Latam, NFC Forum, Online Payments Market Guide, OSP Magazine, TelcoProfessionals, The Paypers, Thread Group, topSEOs.com, U-SNAP Alliance, UMTS Forum, Visibility Magazine, and Women Who Code.

For more information about CONNECTIONS™, visit www.connectionsus.com. Follow the conference on Twitter at @CONNECTIONS_US, #CONNUS15, and on the CONNECTIONS™ Industry Insights Blog. To schedule a meeting with an analyst or speaker, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About CONNECTIONS™
The 19th-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference will take place May 19-21 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in San Francisco. CONNECTIONS™ hosts over 400 executives in the connected entertainment, IoT, and smart home industries in an intimate networking environment.

The event provides networking opportunities and insights from industry players on entertainment, mobile, and smart home market segments. Parks Associates research analysts moderate each session, which feature consumer research on adoption and trends, forecasts of new products and services, evaluation of new business strategies, and concrete recommendations about technology innovations, strategic partnerships, monetization opportunities, and value-added services. Throughout the three-day event, sponsors offer tabletop demos during networking events, spotlighting new technology innovations and services.