Roku increases lead in US battle of streaming devices – research

Roku is increasing its lead in the battle for supremacy between streaming media player providers in the US, according to research by Parks Associates.

According to the research group’s Reinventing CE: Transforming Devices to Service Platforms, 37% of streaming media device owners in US broadband homes owned and use a Roku device as of the end of the first quarter, up from a third a year earlier.

Of the other major players in the market, Amazon Fire TV significantly increased its share of the installed base over the same period, growing its share from 16% to 24%, overtaking Google’s Chromecast, which now holds an 18% share of the overall installed base. Apple was the main loser, with the Apple TV device’s share falling to 15%.

The Parks Associates report also found that 45% of US broadband homes now own a smart TV and that nearly one half of all US broadband homes own a game console.

Parks Associates also estimated that 15.6 million smart speakers with personal digital assistants were sold in the US last year.

“Roku emerged early as a U.S. market leader for streaming media players, and the company has held firmly to that position. 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 US$29.99,” said Glenn Hower, senior analyst, Parks Associates.

“One-third of U.S. broadband households own a streaming media player. 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.”