How could an OTT platform with 51.2 million users worldwide rank sixth in global market share for fourth-quarter connected device sales?
We scratched our heads for a moment as we studied the latest Strategy Analytics report. According to the research company, Roku only had a 5.8% market share for connected smart TVs, smart speakers, players, sticks, dongles and other OTT gadgets. It trailed not only Amazon and Samsung in Q4 tech sales, but Sony, Nintendo and LG, too.
Strategy Analytics said that in a record fourth quarter, in which connected TV device sales increased 7.6% to 305.3, Amazon sold more than twice as many gadgets--13.2 million vs. just 6.3 million for Roku.
Really?
The devil is in those smart TVs. Even though the Roku OS powers the majority of sets sold by TCL (ranked No. 7 with 5.7% of the market) and Hisense (No. 8 at 4.7%), Strategy Analytics credits those sales to the OEM partner, not Roku.
Accounting for proliferation of the Roku platform through these smart sets, it’s a safe assumption that Roku gathered more connected device users worldwide in the fourth quarter than any other platform. (Whether the computer hardware in those sets delivers a satisfying connected TV experience to those consumers is another story--but Roku still leads in growth.)
Just the same, here’s Strategy Analytics’ skewed way of looking at the connected TV device world:
