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

The Smart Home Hub is not dead, but evolving

Smart home technologies are beginning to enjoy their day in the sun, with adoption levels rising across the board. One recent research report from Parks Associates claims that 17% of US broadband hous...

Alexa and other smart speakers may endanger privacy rights

According to a May report from the consultancy Parks Associates, 27 percent of U.S. homes with a broadband internet connection owned at least one smart speaker, yet about 45 percent of their owners “s...

Where Do Niche Streamers Fit in a Sea of Services?

To help spur early growth, niche services are using the targeting capabilities of tech giants like Amazon, Roku and Apple to drive new subscriptions (in exchange for a cut of revenue). AMC Networks is...

The threat of the ‘DIY smart home’

In order to ensure interoperability with products from other manufacturers, more and more companies are beginning to turn to open standards such as ULE. Panasonic, Orange, Deutsche Telkom and Gigaset...