Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Roku IPO stands a fighting chance in a market hostile to tech offerings

Roku lost $24.2 million in the first six months of 2017 and has accumulated $244 million in losses during its history. Giant rivals can spend millions on moonshots that end up as failures, and the world may never know the exact financial toll of these endeavors. Roku, as a company going public, has no such margin of error.

But here’s what Roku has going for it. CEO Anthony Wood saw a few years ago that the market for streaming-TV devices like the Apple TV was limited, so he started to look for other ways to make money off the transition from traditional TV to over-the-top TV.

Several metrics back him up. Roku’s prospectus says players using its OS accounted for 48 percent of usage on TV-connected devices in late 2016. This year, according to Parks Associates, Roku rose to 37 percent of U.S. homes using broadband, up from 33 percent a year ago. And last month, Roku held a 39 percent share of U.S. connected TV users, rising above its deeper-pocketed rivals.

From the article "Roku IPO stands a fighting chance in a market hostile to tech offerings" by Kevin Kelleher.

Previously In The News

Smart Home Evolution: Elephant in the Room

While I’m eager to watch the unfolding evolution of smart home technologies, with mind-blowing features like voice-enabled technology, machine learning, virtual reality, location services, and demand...

2021 Predictions: ‘Zoom Rooms,’ Full Metal Jackets will shape the year

Twenty-six percent of US broadband households find the idea of making purchases directly from TV shows “appealing or very appealing,” according to a 2020 Parks Associates survey. From the article "...

Battle of the Bots: A Truly Useful Helper Is Approaching Fast

For a virtual helpmate to run your life, it needs to engage with the providers of all the services you rely on, from your calendar app to your Uber ride. Those providers must either partner with the c...

Building the Future of Smart Home Security > Engineers must invent new technology to enhance security products' abilities

It’s nearly impossible to find a household today that doesn’t have at least one connected smart home device installed. From video doorbells to robot vacuums, automated lighting, and voice assistants,...