Yahoo! Finance & News

For those who think Amazon has the clout to steal away Netflix subscribers, the logic there isn’t too easy to follow: the $9 price point for the new service simply isn’t compelling enough to siphon away any meaningful portion of the Netflix sub base, and the Amazon library of originals and licensed TV shows and movies isn’t substantially better, either.

It’s more likely that Bezos is betting that Netflix subs are willing to pay for a second or third SVOD option (Hulu) than p ...read more

Wearable cameras such as the GoPro may be advertised as the must-have audio-visual accessory for extreme sport thrill-seekers, but according to new research, their most common uses are much more mundane

New top-line data from Parks Associates shows that almost 40% of consumers who own wearable cameras or camcorders use them for capturing the events of daily life. 

From the article "Action Cams Are For Birthday Parties Not Bungee Jumping" by sg.news.yahoo.com

ESPN will also be coming to Sony’s PlayStation Vue service, available in select markets. Sony’s streaming offering looks more like a traditional cable bundle in that its basic package runs $49.99 and covers more than 50 channels, including local stations. But as Parks Associates research director Brett Sappington observed: “The pricing of the service makes Vue a tough sell.”

From the article "The Time To Cut The Cord And Switch To Streaming TV Is Now" by Rob Pegoraro.

The initiative is an ambitious play, but it makes sense. Spain has lower cable subscriber rates than the US and a large amount of online piracy. So HBO is sacrificing its licensing revenue to appeal to homes that either gave up on cable or never bought it in the first place. "We follow the money," HBO chief executive Richard Plepler told Bloomberg. "We’re making a determination of where we think the most profits lie." The company has 138 million subscribers, two thirds of which ...read more

Consumers are intrigued but have expressed worries about security and privacy in connected cars and regulators are already on the case. Over half of those surveyed by Parks Associates last year said they were very concerned about connected car security and 55% were concerned about use of their location data. Many say they will continue to rely on their smartphone connections.

From the article "Ford and AT&T Hook Up For Free Connected Car Service" by Aaron Pressman.

"Streaming media players will be a popular gift this holiday season, especially with more competitive pricing in the market and the expansion of new OTT services," said Barbara Kraus, Director of Research, Parks Associates.

Parks Associates' latest in-depth research into the subject pitches total projected sales at 86 million devices globally by 2019 and points to 2016 as the year when the market splits into simple and premium. "In 2016, streaming media players will differen ...read more

More consumers are using a Roku as their household streaming box than any other non-gaming device. In fact, the underdog streaming brand is used more commonly than Apple, Google, and Amazon combined, according to a new survey by Parks Associates.
While Roku has never had the resources of its competitors, it actually makes sense that the company would land on top. Roku has long had the advantage when it comes to over all app support, making it easy for developers to add functio ...read more

According to a report from Parks Associates, Roku is the leading player in the US streaming device market, with a share of 37% as of 2014. The chart below shows that Google Chromecast ranked second in this market, with a share of 19%. Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV devices are the third and fourth largest players in this market, respectively.

From the article "Why Amazon Took a Risk by Barring Sales of Apple TV and Chromecast" by Puneet Sikka.