As streaming becomes more popular as a way to consume TV programming, Roku is increasing the number of homes in which its devices are used, according to a new report from Parks Associates.
In the first quarter, Roku's leading share of the streaming media player market in the U.S. grew to 37% from 30% a year ago.
The gain puts Roku further ahead of competitors including Amazon, Google and Apple.
"Roku emerged early as a U.S. market leader for streaming media players, and the company has held firmly to that position," said Glenn Hower, senior analyst at Parks Associates. "Higher-priced devices, such as the Apple TV, have not been able to keep up with low-priced and readily available Roku devices, which can be found at Walmart for as low as $29.99."
Amazon’s Fire TV increased it share to 24% from 16% in the quarter. Google’s Chromecast dropped to 18% and Apple TV fell to 15%, according to Parks.
“One-third of U.S. broadband households own a streaming media player," Hower said. "The growth of the U.S. OTT market provided consumers with unprecedented ease of access to video content. These streaming media devices make for quick and easy access to the top OTT libraries."
The Parks report, Reinventing CE: Transforming Devices to Service Platforms, looks at how the CE industry has migrated from producing and distributing hardware to distributing OTT content and leveraging advertising models.
