Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Roku OS Missing Features Explained: Discovery and Developer Limits

Roku's market position has a way of making the platform look more capable than it is. Across U.S. broadband households, Roku OS accounts for 28% of connected TV platform usage, ahead of Samsung Tizen at 23%, with Amazon Fire TV, LG webOS, and Vizio SmartCast trailing at a distance, according to Parks Associates research.    

Parks Associates Director Michael Goodman puts the stakes plainly: operating systems determine what content consumers see, how services are positioned, and how advertising is delivered. With AI-driven search and  personalization becoming the new competitive standard for TV operating systems, the firm argues that platform control will only matter more in the years ahead. This is the context in which Roku's specific shortcomings land.           

What they may not yet prove is that Roku has closed the gap on the deeper AI-driven discovery layer Parks Associates identifies as the next competitive frontier. The firm argues that AI-driven personalization, the kind that doesn't just catalog content but anticipates it, is where platform competition is heading. Roku's What to Watch feature aggregates titles across services, which is useful.

Roku's 28% share is stable and its value proposition is real. According to Parks Associates, the platform earns its position for a wide range of users, particularly those who primarily want free content, simple setup, and a reliable experience without active management. Nothing in this analysis changes that.

Parks Associates projects that AI-driven personalization will become the standard competitive axis for TV operating systems in the coming years, with platform ecosystems growing more consequential as that shift plays out.

From the Cord-Cutters.gadgethacks article, "Roku vs other smart TV platforms: default choice versus deliberate choice

Previously In The News

5% Of Consumers Who Try A VR Headset Buy One

A new market snapshot by Parks Associates reveals 50% of consumers who try a VR (virtual reality) headset enjoy it and make plans to purchase one, while 15% who try one enjoy the experience and then b...

Nearly 50% of OTT Subs Take More Than One Service

Parks Associates will present new connected entertainment research at CES 2017 in January. The international firm will host the 11th-annual Connections Summit: IoT and the Smart Home on January 5 at t...

15% Of US Broadband Homes Have Antenna-Only TV

New cord-cutter consumer research from Parks Associates shows the percentage of US broadband households that use only antennas to receive TV has steadily increased since 2013 to reach 15%. 360 View...

OTT Churn-Rate In US Homes Is 19%

The figure is reveadled in Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker service, which notes that the overall churn rate for OTT services has been stable for the past year, with top services Netflix, Am...