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It’s further evidence of the gap between esports and the mainstream coming to a close. The demand for esports content is only rising, with 10% of US broadband households watching it, according to recent Parks Associates research.

“While viewership of many traditional sports is waning, esports is well positioned to capture the attention of a generation that grew up playing video games,” Hunter Sappington, Park Associates research analyst, said. And if they’re not watching, ch ...read more

All signs show the smart home market is heading for a boom. It’s expected to hit $53bln in 2022, according to Zion Market Research. That doesn’t just mean smart speakers. That includes everything from smart TVs, connected thermostats and even certain refrigerators. More than 50% of US broadband households own a smart TV, according to a new report from Parks Associates. Products are moving into the mainstream and everyone’s vying for a piece of pie.

From the article :CFX Tech ...read more

Instability in pay-TV through the evolution in video has been at the top of concerns across cable, but the fall in subscribers isn’t totally unexpected considering other shifts in the US. Industry researchers are finally getting the chance to look back and decipher when consumer behavior began to change.

“A lot of what’s going on is no one really knows what the rules are anymore,” Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Park Associates, said at NCTC’s Winter Educati ...read more

Mainstream consumers don’t seem eager to connect their garage doors and light bulbs to the internet, according to data presented by research firm Parks Associates during a Tuesday webcast. With ease of installation and use a chief concern among prospective users of IoT-enabled smart home devices, ISPs could play a role in moving the category forward.

The connected thermostat leads smart home devices with penetration into 11% of US households, with other devices yet to crack ...read more

While a variety of global technology and market trends are reshaping the face of the TV industry, some have a unique impact on the design, marketing, and uptake of premium services. Those that involve major shifts in the business or revenues of pay TV are causing significant market disruptions, as are trends that define substantial changes in viewing habits. Not all of these disruptions work against the uptake of premium video services—several serve to encourage consumer use or ...read more

As the clock counts down and closes out 2015, executives throughout the television and film industries will snuggle down in their beds thinking of the fast-paced year that has just passed. Just before they drift off into a peaceful slumber, unsettling thoughts will cross their minds–the “What Ifs” of 2016.

With a new set of risks, opportunities, competitors, and regulatory issues, life is not easy as a video industry executive. Here are a few key areas that will continue to ...read more

Google’s $35 streaming dongle Chromecast made a big splash when it launched last summer, but usage of the device appears to be declining even as adoption of streaming media players is on the rise, according to Parks Associates. The firm’s new report found 20% of US broadband HHs had a streaming media player at the end of 1Q, up from 14% in 2012.

Parks, which surveyed 10K US broadband HHs, found Chromecast ownership was steady at around 6%, but monthly usage rates are slightl ...read more

For pay-TV providers looking to get into the OTT video space, there are a couple of options: partnering with an existing OTT service provider like Netflix; acquiring an existing service provider; or launching their own services. Two Parks Associates analysts offered a risk/incentives assessment of those options during a Webinar Thursday and addressed opportunities and challenges going forward.

Partnering is the lowest costs/risk option, said Brett Sappington, director of re ...read more