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"User experience defines the operator's video services for consumers," said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates in a statement. "Every pay-TV service and streaming video service is working to capture and maintain consumer attention in order to drive ongoing use and monetization. As a result, operators need a flexible platform that allows them to innovate rapidly and meet or surpass connected experiences offered elsewhere."

From the article "Get ...read more

"User experience defines the operator's video services for consumers," said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates in a statement. "Every pay-TV service and streaming video service is working to capture and maintain consumer attention in order to drive ongoing use and monetization. As a result, operators need a flexible platform that allows them to innovate rapidly and meet or surpass connected experiences offered elsewhere."

From the article "Get ...read more

The growing popularity of smarter timepieces helps explain why smartwatches are co-opting features previously associated with fitness trackers and GPS sports watches, says Parks Associates analyst Kristen Hanich, who notes that the different categories have overlapping features.

"Basic activity tracking is highly popular, but it's a fairly standard feature," Hanich says. "Consumers want more -- which in many cases means a smartwatch."https://www.parksassociates.com/staff/kri ...read more

Apple still needs to play catch up. As of the end of March, Apple has about 15 percent of the set-top box market, coming in behind Roku, Amazon and Google, according to a report from Parks Associates.

Apple TV 4K, starting at $179, will be available to order September 15 and will ship a week later. The TV app will also be coming to Australia and Canada, as well as France, the UK, Germany, Norway, and Sweden by the end of the year.

From the article "Apple edges deeper int ...read more

While Apple and Samsung still talk up the fashion aspects of their devices, they've now shifted to emphasize something else even more: health and fitness. People may want their smartwatches to look good, but they want their wearables to help them get in shape too.

"The wearables landscape is evolving to a place where health and fitness is now the No. 1 purchase driver," David Ng, senior manager of product marketing at Samsung North America, said during a briefing with report ...read more

The company, founded in 2009, managed to upend the taxi industry and become the world's most valuable startup, with a valuation of $68 billion. With its no-apologies attitude and notoriously aggressive CEO, Uber quickly became one of the biggest ride-hailing services on the planet. While this approach helped the company grow, it called into question its long-term sustainability.

"Uber has been a massive disruptor to a traditional industry, but it is facing competitive pressu ...read more

The new Apple TV box will feature a faster processor capable of streaming higher-resolution 4K content and highlighting live television content, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The update box is expected to debut at an event in September, along with a new iPhone and Apple Watch models, sources told the news outlet.

The move would underscore Apple's ambitions to improve its standing in the streaming market. Apple commands only 15 percent of the set-top market as of the end of Ma ...read more

Almost one out of three people who use a free trial to try out a streaming video service end up subscribing, researcher Parks Associates said Monday.

That "sizeable portion" of trial users dwarfs the amount of people who abuse free try-outs, Parks senior analyst Glenn Hower said.

"There is a potential for free trial abuse, but only roughly 1 percent of consumers are 'serial trialers,'" he said. "Most consumers use trials for their intended purpose of trying out a service ...read more