The San Diego Union-Tribune

Roku continues to be the nation’s leading maker of streaming media players — a.k.a. the sticks and boxes that connect your television set to entertainment apps such as Netflix and Amazon Video.

The technology company grew its share to 37 percent of U.S. households with broadband access, according to new research from Parks Associates. What’s more, Roku has increased its lead in the last year over its top three competitors: Amazon, Google and Apple.

From the article "Roku ...read more

“(ISPs) want to keep pace with others in the market. It’s a tough balance. If you lower your price just because the competition’s prices are lower, then everyone is racing to get to the lowest price,” said Brett Sappington, the senior director of research at Parks Associates. “The companies are anxious about doing that.”

So instead of always reasonable, fixed rates for high-speed service — as those fortunate enough to have access to Google-owned Webpass can expect — we get s ...read more

Because while the bulk of American households still have a cable or satellite TV package, the percentage is shrinking with each passing year. And those who aren’t ready to cut the cord completely are ready to cut back: Twice as many pay TV subscribers downgraded (12 percent) their pay-TV service than upgraded (6 percent) it in 2016, according to Parks Associates.

From the article "The TV Tipping Point: Where Do We Go From Here?" by Jennifer Van Grove.

In fact, since 2013, the percentage of broadband households in the nation using only antennas to watch linear TV has jumped from 9 percent to 15 percent, according to data released this week by Parks Associates.

“That's a significant increase and a steady trend upward,” said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associate who tracks trends in TV viewing. “There is a bit of a renaissance for the antenna. For many years, the trend in the U.S. was in the rise o ...read more

This year should sway even more converts, as it will mark the proliferation of live television broadcast over the Internet.

That’s because a number of entertainment power-players are making it easier than ever to forgo the old-fashioned cable plan and stream shows instead.

“The big news in 2017 is going to be live, online pay TV services,” said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates.

From the article "New Year Brings New Breed Of Cord-Cutte ...read more

Of course, subscription fatigue is very real among cord-cutters and cord-shavers — as in, those who’ve cut back on traditional pay TV but have not abandoned it. And consumers may show no interest in shelling out each month for no-name entertainment, especially from a brand without the marketing muscle to bombard them with ads.

“We’ve definitely seen a reduction in the number of OTT services people are paying for lately,” said Ren Bond, who researches the industry at Parks As ...read more

“More than anything, this is yet another sign of the trend of live TV in OTT,” said Ren Bond, a research analyst who studies the online video industry at Parks Associates. “Google getting content from CBS is so significant because the agreement with CBS includes NFL games, and that’s something that earlier trailblazers had a hard time getting at first.”

From the article "Digital Life Internet TV Providers Are Starting To Get More Cable-Like" by Jennifer Van Grove.

How can the health-care industry create incentives and provide technology to get more Americans to live healthier lifestyles?

That was the key question at the Connected Health Summit this week in San Diego, organized by Dallas-based industry research firm Parks Associates.

From the article "Connected health: Helping consumers take charge" by Mike Freeman.