According to Parks Associates, Roku is increasing its lead in the streaming media player landscape, with 37% of U.S. households owning and using a Roku device as of Q1 2017, up from 30% in Q1 2016. The research house says the increase in share of installed base puts Roku further ahead of its main competitors Amazon, Google and Apple.
"Roku emerged early as a U.S. market leader for streaming media players, and the company has held firmly to that position," said Glenn Hower, Parks' senior analyst. "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."
Of the other major players in the market, Parks says only Amazon's Fire TV had an increase in its share of installed base during the same timeframe. Amazon increased its share from 16% to 24% of U.S. 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% share of installed base, while Apple's share fell to 15%.
"One-third of U.S. broadband households own a streaming media player," Hower said. "The growth of the U.S. 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."
Other findings indicate:
- 45% of U.S. broadband households own a smart TV.
- Parks Associates estimates 15.6 million smart speakers with personal digital assistants were sold in the United States in 2016.
- Nearly half of all U.S. broadband households own a gaming console.