Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Roku Drops Support for ‘Classic’ Streaming Boxes

When Roku launched its first product in May 2008, it was the first device able to stream Netflix to TVs. The company has since added more than 2,000 channels available through its platform, but older models provide access to only 1,200 of those.

Roku had the No. 1 selling streaming devices last year in the U.S., with 34% share of units sold, according to Parks Associates estimates. As of Q1 2015, among American broadband households that owned a streaming device, 37% had a Roku, followed by Google Chromecast at 19%, Apple TV at 17% and Amazon Fire TV devices at 14%, per Parks’ research.

The company, in explaining why it was dropping support for its older models, said that streaming technology has evolved “and so have our Roku streaming players.”

From the article "Roku Drops Support for ‘Classic’ Streaming Boxes" by Todd Spangler.

Previously In The News

Research: Free trials influence over half of OTT subs

Parks Associates research finds that over 50 per cent of US broadband households that subscribed to an OTT video service within the past year indicate that the service trial played a key role in their...

One in 10 smart home device owners report unresolved technical problems

Smart home devices are supposed to make our lives easier, but if they suddenly stop working without warning, they can end up doing just the opposite. According to new research, more than one in 10 peo...

Google continues to ignore the Chromecast, the best product it ever made

The numbers also suggest customers, at least in the United States, have begun to pick Roku and Amazon over Google. A study by Parks Associates found that the Chromecast now makes up only 11% of the me...

User experience key focus for smart TVs and SMPs

A Parks Associates report finds that makers of smart TVs and streaming media players (SMPs) are shifting strategies to focus on the user experience (UX) as device sales start to flatten out. Accord...