Variety

Roku faces massive, deep-pocketed competitors — but so far the 700-employee company has more than held its own in the streaming-media device market. In the first quarter of 2017, Roku had 37% share of all streaming devices owned by U.S. broadband households, according to research firm Parks Associates, ahead of Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick (24%), Google’s Chromecast (18%) and Apple TV (15%).

From the article "Roku Shares Soar in Streaming-Device Maker’s IPO Debut" by Tod ...read more

Streaming device maker Roku has been growing its market share and is now outselling Apple’s Apple TV more than 2:1 in the U.S., according to new data from market research company Parks Associates. In the first quarter of 2017, 37% of all streaming devices owned by U.S. broadband households were made by Roku, according to the company’s new “Reinventing CE: Transforming Devices to Service Platforms” report.

Runner-up in the streaming device race is Amazon with its Fire TV and ...read more

Are you a fan of horror movies? Anime? Arthouse? British dramas? Whatever your off-the-beaten-path obsession is, there’s a subscription video service just for people like you out there.

Parks Associates estimates that there are now close to 100 video subscription services in the U.S. and Canada. Barely a week goes by without a network or a studio announcing the launch of another subscription service, with many betting on niche programming to establish themselves next to gian ...read more

The trend of people freeloading off the Netflix or HBO passwords of paying subs has long been a question facing the industry, and during the Primetime Emmy Awards last year host Andy Samberg even made a joke about it. A study last year by research firm Parks Associates suggested SVOD services would stand to lose upwards of $500 million in revenue in 2015 from the practice.

From the article "Sharing Netflix Or HBO Go Passwords Is Technically A Federal Crime Under 9th Circuit ...read more

Two out of three U.S. households with broadband Internet access stream music or other forms of audio programming from the internet, according to a new study by Parks Associates.

Forty percent of all U.S. households access only free audio streaming services online and 26% have access to a paid music service, according to the market research company.

However, the most popular music service may surprise you: 10% of all broadband households have access to Amazon Prime Music, ...read more

Regardless of who owns how much of the pie, the growing popularity of Internet streaming is changing how consumers are listening to music. “Wireless speakers, multiroom audio systems, and soundbars constitute a growing home audio segment, which is offsetting declining sales in home theater and traditional audio components,” said Parks analyst Brad Russell. “Together, these three devices will generate $26 billion annually in global sales in 2020.”

From the article "Two Out of ...read more

Apple has been working for some time on a cable killer, and is looking to combine broadcast and select cable networks for a cheaper, better-looking bundle. But that isn’t the extent of the company’s content ambitions: As Variety reported exclusively, the company has even made overtures to execs in Hollywood about producing its own original programming, with the goal of building out a production unit that could one day churn out TV shows or even movies.

But no Apple originals ...read more

Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins chalked up the exceptions to rights held by studios on select series. “They have other commitments that they couldn’t free them up for a complete commercial-free offering,” he said, adding that the service will clearly delineate the exceptions to users before they stream those series.

Other series that will have pre-roll include four ABC series: “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Agents of SHIELD,” and an NBC series, “ ...read more