Analyst: Roku top streaming media player
August 24, 2017
Findings from Parks Associates indicate that Roku is increasing its lead in the streaming media player landscape. As of Q1 2017, 37 per cent of streaming media players owned by US broadband households are Roku devices, up from one-third in Q1 2016. The firm’s latest industry report – Reinventing CE: Transforming Devices to Service Platforms – shows this increase in share of installed base puts Roku further ahead of its main competitors Amazon, Google, and Apple.
“Roku emerged early as a US market leader for streaming media players, and the company has held firmly to that position,” said Glenn Hower, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Higher-priced devices, such as the Apple TV, have not been able to keep up with low-priced and readily-available Roku devices, which can be found at Walmart for as low as $29.99 [€25.43].”
According to Parks Associates, of the other major players in this market, only Amazon’s Fire TV had an increase in its share of installed base during the same timeframe. Amazon increased its share from 16 per cent to 24 per cent of streaming media players owned by US broadband households, which moved the e-tailer ahead of Google for second place in streaming media player adoption. Google’s Chromecast now holds an 18 per cent share of installed base, while Apple’s share fell to 15 per cent.
“One-third of US broadband households own a streaming media player,” Hower said. “The growth of the US OTT market provided consumers with unprecedented ease of access to video content. These streaming media devices make for quick and easy access to the top OTT libraries.”
Additional findings:
- 45 per cent of US broadband households own a smart TV.
- Parks Associates estimates 15.6 million smart speakers with personal digital assistants were sold in the US in 2016.
- Nearly one-half of all US broadband households own a gaming console.