More data on streaming devices has been released by Parks Associates, in addition to the prediction that the company made last month (Parks: Streaming Devices Will Rise 186%).
‘An increasing number’ of US broadband households are turning to streaming media players as their first option when searching for online content. 21% of these households with at least one connected CE device, in the USA, use a streaming media player as their primary online video platform – up from 12% last year. Streaming video usage of connected game consoles and DVRs fell, but rose modestly for smart TVs.
65% of US broadband households connect at least one device to the internet. Microsoft’s Xbox is the most common device (more than 14%), closely followed by Sony’s Playstation (just under 14%) and Roku players (10%).
Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks, said, “Roku devices are now the third most widely used connected CE device, trailing only Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation as the most common platforms to access online video content on a TV set. It is a rapid ascendance for streaming media players, and Roku in particular, especially considering the broad base of gaming console ownership compared to the lower penetration of streaming media devices”.
20% of US broadband households own at least one streaming media cube player, and 8% own at least one streaming stick.
Parks also revealed that OTT services remain popular in the UK. Only 3% of UK broadband households cancelled an OTT video service in the last 12 months, and 33% currently pay for such a service. In the USA, these figures stand at 9% and 59%, respectively.
Parks writes that service cancellations and switching are ‘an evolving part of viewer consumption and buying habits’ in the US market – a trend that is also beginning to emerge in Western Europe.
