Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

DirecTV is making an Android-powered streaming box. What gives?

“If (AT&T) had a box that came in at $35 or under, consumers would be interested,” Brett Sappington told me. He’s the senior director of research at Parks Associates, which pays extremely close attention to the over-the-top (OTT) — meaning Internet-based TV — space. “They’d buy it just to see if it worked.”

Sappington reasons that a new streaming box isn’t dead on arrival, so long as it has a stellar user interface, is feature-rich, is open to all TV app developers and is relatively cheap. An existing DirecTV Now customer, for instance, may be compelled to test out the company’s box if it promises better streaming performance — say, no buffering during any live streams — and comes with some sort of service-plus-box deal.

From the article "DirecTV is making an Android-powered streaming box. What gives?" by Jennifer Van Grove.

Previously In The News

10 Indications 2018 Will be a Big Year for Smart Home Installations

In the period of just one year, big-box retailers including Best Buy, Lowe’s, Apple, Target and Sears, dramatically increased shelf space and visibility for smart-home devices. Even Whole Foods, acqui...

Research Shows COVID-19 Elevates Smart Home Security Use, Increases Safety Concerns

New research from Parks Associates shows COVID-19 has amplified concerns around the safety and security of property and family members, driving consumers to seek solutions from integrators. New res...

Insurance, the Smart Home, and the Business of Keeping Customers Engaged

It takes a lot of time and money to acquire a customer, so once you have them, you better keep them. How can you do that if you only talk to them when they have a problem? Consumer engagement was a...

Millennials, Amazon Prime Members to Drive CE/Smart-Home Purchases this Holiday

Voice-control systems such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomePod will be popular smart-home purchases this 2017 holiday season ... but not as popular as video doorbells. IoT research firm...