Tech still isn’t winning market
According to research firm eMarketer, 168.1 million people in the U.S. will use an Internet-connected TV this year, 10.1% growth from 2016. Nearly half (81.2 million) will use smart TVs with built-in streaming features.
That growth could throttle demand for stand-alone streaming devices such as Roku’s set-top boxes, Alphabet’s Google Chromecast, Amazon’s Fire TV and Apple TV. eMarketer notes the streaming device market is still growing, with Roku in the lead.
Analyst Paul Verna attributes Roku’s lead to its lack of a multiplatform “ecosystem” like the other three companies. Verna notes Roku leverages that neutrality “to strike deals with a wide range of partners, including smart TV makers, over-the-top service providers and social media companies.”
Chromecast remains a cheap way to stream content from mobile devices and PCs to TVs. Fire TV is popular with Prime members, who have access to Amazon’s streaming videos. Apple TV remains held back by a high price tag (about four times the cost of streaming sticks) and its lack of compelling original content.