Providing market intelligence for more than 35 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

Streaming Plays Nicely With Cable VOD, Netflix Is New Norm

Overall, SVOD spending in U.S. broadband homes is up nearly 67% since 2012, according to research from Parks Associates. That firm said the average monthly spend on SVOD in U.S. homes was $6.19 in 201...

40% Already Use Voice Recognition Software, 70% Satisfied With It

Almost half (40%) of smartphone owners already use voice recognition capabilities from Apple’s Siri, Google Now or Microsoft Cortana, according to a 10,000-person survey of broadband households conduc...

Partner With SVOD Providers For Younger Generation

According to Brett Sappington, Parks Associates senior director of research, and Hub Entertainment Research president Peter Fondulas at the NCTC Winter Educational Conference, written by Mike Farrell,...

Saving Money Top Driver For Smart Home Device Purchasing

The majority (61%) of households that do not own and do not intend to purchase a smart home device could be persuaded by reduced household bills or insurance discounts, according to the study, compris...