Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content

Apple has been working for some time on a cable killer, and is looking to combine broadcast and select cable networks for a cheaper, better-looking bundle. But that isn’t the extent of the company’s content ambitions: As Variety reported exclusively, the company has even made overtures to execs in Hollywood about producing its own original programming, with the goal of building out a production unit that could one day churn out TV shows or even movies.

But no Apple originals are in the foreseeable future, and negotiations with networks to license channels have been slow-moving, forcing the company to postpone the launch of the service until some time in 2016.

Without that content infusion, Apple TV is just another box — and an expensive one: Numerous leaks point to a base model launch price of $149.

That’s significantly more than the competition, which already has been eating Apple’s lunch with cheap boxes and streaming sticks. Roku, whose entry-level devices retail for just $50, sold 34% of all streaming devices in the U.S. in 2014. Apple TV’s market share was just 13%, according to data from Parks Associates, which also has sales of Google’s Chromecast streaming stick and Amazon’s Fire TV devices surpassing those of Apple’s hockey puck.

Consumers are voting with their wallets, argued Parks Associates research director Barbara Kraus: “If I just want to stream, I can do that with a $35 stick.”

From the article "Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content" by Janko Roettgers.

Previously In The News

Netflix Challengers: Are There Flies in the Ointment?

Parks Associates estimates that over the past five years, the number of SVOD services has more than doubled, to 271. And projections are that subscription streaming will grow at a faster clip than any...

Most Broadband Users Still Pay For Television

Fortunately for pay-television providers, Kelling is not alone in what the industry calls “over-the-top” video consumption. According to the market research firm Parks Associates, 81 percent of U.S. h...

Research: over 50% of U.S. broadband households stream content on TV screens

Parks Associates, a market intelligence and consulting company, yesterday released research showing that over 50% of U.S. broadband households stream content on TV screens. “For years, the televisi...

Walmart Posts Healthy Second-Quarter 2019 Financials

The nation’s largest retailer continues to lead in DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, devoting significant retail space to the category, including point-of-purchase displays and ubiquitous dump bins. “We...