Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

How Many Consumers Actually Have VR Headsets?

Parks Associates released new consumer research this week showing that 2 percent of U.S. broadband households, or 2.3 million households, own a virtual reality headset. The survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households reportedly reveals that 5 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a VR headset in 2016, an increase from only 1 percent who made a purchase the year prior.

“The big change in VR for 2016 has been the availability or pending availability of VR headsets from companies such as Facebook (Oculus Rift), Google (Google Cardboard) and HTC (Vive). Sony PlayStation VR is expected to be released in October. We expect gamers to be the initial market for VR,” Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates director of research, says. “VR is an immersive experience, and more is better for gamers – more immersion, better sound, better graphics, and more players. The mass market is more likely to adopt mobile VR, which will be less expensive and uses a tool – the smartphone – that the majority of U.S. consumers own.”

From the article "How Many Consumers Actually Have VR Headsets?" by Laura Hamilton.

Previously In The News

Finding OTT's Tipping Point: Three Factors Could Push It Past Pay-TV Subscriber Totals

The evolution of content distribution and the consistent growth of over-the-top (OTT) streaming generates industry predictions of the inevitable decline and fall of pay TV. As video ecosystems collide...

Netflix saw subscribers drop post-lockdown. But Disney+ might not face the same fate

Like all streaming services, Disney+ saw strong growth during the pandemic but competitor Netflix reported losing subscribers last quarter. But Disney+ is cheaper than Netflix – an increasingly import...

On Hunt for Content, AT&T Closes Deal for Chernin’s Otter Media

With the purchase, Otter Media ranks as one of the most valuable media upstarts of the last decade, said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates, a firm that focuses on emerg...

Could streaming giants start to clamp down on password sharing?

The major concern for cyber security companies like Synamedia is how password sharing can turn into true content piracy ? stealing streaming shows and movies and reselling them for profit. If you k...