Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Apple TV could be star of Wednesday's show

Apple's effort to upend the television market isn't a sure thing, analysts said. Many of the features that it is expected to include on Apple TV -- an app store, voice search, a more powerful processor and a motion-sensing remote -- are already available on other devices, they noted. Meanwhile, Roku, which has some 2,000 channels available for its boxes, is likely to maintain its lead on Apple for the time being, Erickson said.

The bigger problem facing the new Apple TV could be its price, analysts said. Reports suggest that Apple will price the device at $150. That's not only $50 more than what the company charged for its previous Apple TV, until it discounted it earlier this year, but it's $100 more than what the streaming sticks are selling for.

At that price, Apple could have a hard time finding buyers other than its most loyal fans, said Barbara Kraus, an analyst who covers the connected device market for Parks Associates.

"I guess I don't see anything here that makes me think that this is a game changer," Kraus said.

From the article "Apple TV could be star of Wednesday's show" by Troy Wolverton.

Previously In The News

Google Chromecast’s surprising origins—and uncertain future

New research out this week from Parks Associates found that Chromecast makes up just 11% of all streaming players installed in the United States, down from 21% three years ago. Meanwhile, Roku’s U.S....

Sling TV has a secret weapon to win over cord-cutters–the humble TV antenna

Mitch Weinraub, AirTV’s director of product development, says a majority of Sling TV’s 2.2 million subscribers already use an antenna somewhere in their homes, and a recent Parks Associates study foun...

Amazon’s new smart speaker is a TV streaming box, and vice versa

The Fire TV Cube will be an interesting test for full-blown streaming boxes, which have fallen out of favor as most consumers opt for cheaper streaming dongles that can fit behind a television. Last y...

Instant View-Federal Judge OKs AT&T Takeover of Time Warner

BRETT SAPPINGTON, DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT RESEARCH DIRECTOR, PARKS ASSOCIATES, DALLAS: "If you're AT&T, who do you want to include in your own skinny bundle? The channels you own. This means if you'r...