Apple has emerged as the leading player in the rapidly growing connected TV player market, according to the latest research from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service. According to the report, “Connected TV Players: Another Battlefield in the Smart TV War,” global sales of connected TV players—also known as video streaming or internet TV set-top-boxes—will more than double in 2011, compared to 2010. Strategy Analytics projects that the market will reach almost 12 million units globally this year, with Apple alone predicted to sell nearly four million devices.

While connected TV players have not gained mainstream traction, an increasing number of consumers are buying them, as they offer one of the easiest ways to get Internet content onto the big TV screen. The lower price points of the second generation Apple TV and Roku Box have made them more affordable and compelling to consumers. More than 8 percent of US households now own a connected TV player, compared to 7 percent of European households.

This report also found that Apple TV users are spending more money on movies and TV shows: 30 percent of Apple TV owners rented movies or TV shows, compared to 20 percent of users of other devices. “Apple is leading this nascent market, which it still considers a ‘hobby’.” says Jia Wu, Senior Analyst at the Connected Home Devices service. “As Apple prepares for its expected launch of smart TVs in 2012, rival platforms must accelerate their development plans to keep Apple from running away with the connected TV business, as it has done in smartphones and digital music.”

Strategy Analytics conducted an online survey, the 2011 ConsumerMetrix Survey fielded in July 2011.