This year, Roku is projected to have 25 million U.S. users, representing
15.2% of connected-TV users, according to a forecast by research firm
eMarketer. Google’s Chromecast will have 30.2 million users and Apple TV
will have 20.5 million users in the States, per eMarketer estimates.
The more data that emerges regarding the streaming video player category, the less clear it is just who is on top.
The latest sprinkling of data points carefully designed to make a
company look robust without actually revealing too much came from
Roku Tuesday, which disclosed reaching the
10-million-unit sales mark in the U.S. since launching in 2008.
That nice round number probably brought to mind Apple CEO Tim Cook , who in April revealed that rival product
Apple TV had reached a global installed
base of 20 million, which had generated $1 billion in revenues for the company last year.
But Apple TV and Roku don’t have the streaming device marketplace to
themselves anymore, according to data issued earlier this month from NPD
Group’s retail tracking service ( based on a survey of 5,000 U.S.
consumers). The emergence of Google’s
Chromecast on NPD’s radar for the first time in the second quarter of the year reduced U.S. market share for the category leaders.
Apple TV saw its share drop from 46% in the second quarter last year
to 39% in 2014. Roku had a slightly smaller dip, from 33% to 28%. Both
of their drops were on account of Chromecast grabbing 16% share. Keep in
mind last year IHS pegged Roku and Apple TV’s combined market share at
94%.
Yet it’s too early to draw any conclusions because this is quickly
becoming a four-player race where all three incumbents could see share
drop further next quarter, when sales of Amazon’s
Fire TV are tracked for the first time.
Not to be outdone, Roku also shared an NPD Group stat Tuesday that
makes a more direct comparison: The purple box served an aggregate 37
million hours of video streamed per week compared to Apple TV at 15
million hours, Chromecast at 12 million hours and Amazon Fire TV at six
million hours. Can’t get a clearer sense of what the competitive set is
than that, right?
But time is a tricky metric. Consider a damning Parks Associates
estimate made in June that found a declining percentage in the number of
Chromecast users using the device at least once a month. Google
responded the following month at its I/O conference with a different
data point suggesting the total number of minutes Chromecast is being
used shot up 40% from last year.
Both points could be true: While the overall number of Chromecast
buyers are using it less, the core user base is more engaged than ever.
Parks also issued a worrisome indicator for Chromecast in June that
Q1 sales of Chromecast had remained flat from the two previous quarters,
with just 6% of U.S. broadband households buying Chromecast. That
figure held steady even as the usage of streaming media players overall
is on the rise.
Moreover, Parks estimated in July that Google sold 3.8 million
Chromecast units over the previous 12 months worldwide, on par with how
many units Roku sold in all of 2013. Apple TV sold just over 2 million
last year. Chromecast is available in 19 countries as of July,
significantly more than Roku, which is just in four countries, while
Apple TV is in far more than both competitors combined.
Chromecast was also likely the culprit for the pronounced decrease in
the average price of a streaming media player, which went from $88 in
2012 to $61 in the first half of 2014, according to NPD. A big factor in
Chromecast’s ability to move the volume of units it did was its cheap
$35 price tag, which in turn prompted newer, cheaper devices in the
market like Roku’s $49 HDMI stick.
Another research firm, IHS,
estimates 24 million units
as the installed base for streaming media players in the U.S. this
year, comprising nearly half of the 50 million total worldwide. That’s
up from 16 million the previous year and expected to climb to 44 million
by 2017. Streaming media devices are distinct from Blu-Ray players,
game consoles and connected TVs, which altogether are expected to reach
213 million by 2017. All of the other segments are still more pervasive
than streaming devices.
As of the first quarter of 2014, according to Parks, 20% of U.S.
broadband households use streaming media players, up from 14% in 2012.
When consoles, connected TVs and Blu-Ray players are added in, that’
number is near 70%.
Of course, with all the attention now on this sector, the question in
the years to come is what use devices that attach to TVs to allow for
streaming when an increasing number of smart TVs come with that
capability baked in? Until then, there’s a short-term horse race worth
watching.
Source: https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/the-race-too-early-to-call-roku-apple-tv-fire-tv-chromecast-1201303129/
This year, Roku is projected to have 25 million U.S. users, representing
15.2% of connected-TV users, according to a forecast by research firm
eMarketer. Google’s Chromecast will have 30.2 million users and Apple TV
will have 20.5 million users in the States, per eMarketer estimates.
Roku Passes 10 Million Mark As Streaming Competition Heats Up
Amadou Diallo
