Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content

Apple has been working for some time on a cable killer, and is looking to combine broadcast and select cable networks for a cheaper, better-looking bundle. But that isn’t the extent of the company’s content ambitions: As Variety reported exclusively, the company has even made overtures to execs in Hollywood about producing its own original programming, with the goal of building out a production unit that could one day churn out TV shows or even movies.

But no Apple originals are in the foreseeable future, and negotiations with networks to license channels have been slow-moving, forcing the company to postpone the launch of the service until some time in 2016.

Without that content infusion, Apple TV is just another box — and an expensive one: Numerous leaks point to a base model launch price of $149.

That’s significantly more than the competition, which already has been eating Apple’s lunch with cheap boxes and streaming sticks. Roku, whose entry-level devices retail for just $50, sold 34% of all streaming devices in the U.S. in 2014. Apple TV’s market share was just 13%, according to data from Parks Associates, which also has sales of Google’s Chromecast streaming stick and Amazon’s Fire TV devices surpassing those of Apple’s hockey puck.

Consumers are voting with their wallets, argued Parks Associates research director Barbara Kraus: “If I just want to stream, I can do that with a $35 stick.”

From the article "Apple TV Upgrade: Upside Limited Without Content" by Janko Roettgers.

Previously In The News

The Complete Guide To Android Pay In The UK

The research from IoT market research and consulting firm, Parks Associates, shows that more than 25 per cent of smartphone users in the US are using mobile payments platforms at least once a month, b...

Pilot Program Helps Aging Patients Retain Independence Through House Calls

How can the health-care industry create incentives and provide technology to get more Americans to live healthier lifestyles? That was the key question at the Connected Health Summit this week in San...

Roku Tops Apple TV, Fire TV, And Chromecast In Sales

Roku is still the leader in streaming media players sold, accounting for 30% of the total market share from the first quarter of 2015 through the first quarter of 2016. The stats come from Parks Assoc...

BizTechReports latest analyst roundup features analyst perspective on 4k TV, smart watches, and IoT

Parks Associates: Smart Watch Purchases to Ramp Up Over Next 12 Months, Parks Associates Forecasts —- New research from Parks Associates indicates smart watch adoption has nearly doubled, from 4 perce...