Roku and Amazon Fire TV Adoption Ticks Up to 57% of U.S. Homes
The top OTT platforms are more dominant than ever as smart TVs now infiltrate 70% of households, Hub Entertainment Research says
With smart TVs now found in 70% of U.S. homes, the two OTT platforms that power the majority of those sets are more dominant than ever.
According to Hub Entertainment Research’s third annual “Connected Home” report, 57% of U.S. TV households now have a TV powered by either Roku or Amazon Fire TV, vs. just 51% at the end of the first quarter of last year. Forty percent of homes have Roku, either through a peripheral device like a player, smart speaker or streaming stick, or via a smart TV powered by the Roku OS. Roku’s infiltration into the U.S stood at only 35% as of the end of the first quarter of last year, and 30% in Q1 2019
Twenty-nine percent of homes have Amazon Fire TV vs. 26% in Q1 2020. (Some homes have TVs powered by both operating systems.)
The increased proliferation of the top two OTT platforms comes amid markedly increased smart TV adoption—52% of TVs in the U.S. are now smart TVs vs. 45% at the end of Q1 2020. Two out of five of those sets are powered by either Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
Fifty-six percent of those smart TV homes use their TV to stream video at least once a month vs. 48% a year ago.
Altogether, 77% of U.S. TV homes reported streaming video in the first quarter vs. 74% a year ago.
“The wider adoption of smart TVs and replacement of non-smart TVs turns up the pressure on connected devices like streaming boxes, streaming sticks, and video game consoles,” said David Tice, senior consultant to Hub and co-author of the study. “This ‘eliminating of the middleman’ will have a direct impact on how future revenue is split on advanced TV businesses like streaming, interactive shopping, and addressable advertising.”
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Hub said it surveyed 5,000 U.S. consumers in February and March.
Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!