Roku, the streaming video platform and device maker, increased its US market share to 37% in Q1 2017 from 30% a year ago, according to Parks Associates. Roku still commands market leadership over Amazon, Google, Apple and others when it comes to media player ownership in the US.
Amazon’s Fire TV came in second in terms of market share, at 24% in Q1 2017 versus 16% last year. Meanwhile, Google and Apple lost market share over the past year. Here’s why that’s important:
- Roku is slightly cheaper than competitors. While the basic versions of Google’s Chromecast and Amazon’s FireStick cost $35 and $40, respectively, Roku’s cheapest model can be found for a comparable $30.
- Amazon is likely Roku’s biggest threat. Not only are they both growing market share at a similar pace, but the two companies are also targeting low-end TV manufacturers. Roku was first to partner with third-party manufacturers to provide custom out-of-the-box software. According to the company, 13% of all smart TV’s sold in the US are integrated with the Roku platform, up from 8% a year ago. Amazon’s entry could decelerate this growth, especially considering the company’s ability to favor Amazon-enabled TV’s through e-commerce channels.
- Roku hit a user milestone in January. It reached 15 million active accounts in Q2 2017, up 43% YoY. The company also said that its users streamed nearly 7 billion hours on the platform in the first half of 2017, a 61% increase versus the same period last year.
- Roku is app-agnostic, and unlike other OTT platforms, viewing isn’t heavily skewed toward Netflix content. Netflix commands 40% of all OTT viewing hours across devices in the US, per comScore. For Roku, Netflix represents 26% of all viewing hours, which, along with Google Chromecast, is the lowest percentage of OTT devices in the US. Meanwhile, Netflix accounted for 43% and 38% of video hours streamed on Amazon Fire devices and Apple TV, respectively.
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