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Consumers have already spoken, as more than half (55%) of U.S. broadband households currently subscribe to a streaming TV service, according to Parks Associates.

From the article "Cutting the Cord: Fissures in the pay TV 'logjam'" by Mike Snider.

Already more than half (55%) of U.S. homes with broadband Internet connectivity subscribe to a Net TV service such as Netflix, according to research firm Parks Associates. And pay-TV subscribers are slowly jumping ship as bills routinely top $100 each month.

From the article "Future of Net TV looks brighter with CBS, HBO on board" by Mike Snider.

Already 55% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to a streaming TV service, according to Parks Associates. As consumer adoption of streaming has boomed and some pay TV customers are trimming — and a few cutting — the cord, content providers have put out feelers for stand-alone services to entice cord cutters.

From the article "First Take: HBO's stand-alone service could open floodgates" by Mike Snider.

As consumer behavior changes — in this case, purchases of tickets and discs declining — Hollywood needs new ways of recouping its investments in movies. "There are a lot more outlets for content now than there ever really have been for video," says Glenn Hower, a research analyst at Parks Associates. "So the studios have to seriously examine their windowing process and develop a couple of different release periods."

From the article "Cutting the Cord: Waiting for ... 'Godzil ...read more

That all makes sense, but could the concept of cord cutting be overblown?

Only about 5% of U.S. homes with broadband Net service have cut the pay TV cord, says Parks Associates research analyst Glenn Hower. "We are not projecting really any increase in that," he says.

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"A big part of that is just the fact that consumers in the U.S. especially really like their video content and in a lot of instances that is just not really available without a pay TV subscription," ...read more

The iTunes Extra revamp is also timely because Apple TV is falling behind competitor Roku in the streaming media player race. In U.S. broadband homes with a streaming media player, 44% used Roku the most in 2013, while 26% used Apple TV, according to research firm Parks Associates. That's a larger gap than in 2012 when Roku had a 37% share vs. Apple TV's 24%.

Last year, Roku accounted for nearly one-half (46%) of all streaming media players sold in the U.S., compared with Ap ...read more

Of course, consumers have countless ways to stream video, including a variety of set-top boxes and streaming sticks including Google's Chromecast. Most of the high-profile streaming devices require a high-definition television with HDMI input, HDMI cable, and wireless broadband service.

For now, Apple TV and Roku have the lead in the marketplace. Roku appears to be the choice of U.S. homes with broadband connections, with 56% having one of the devices, according to research ...read more

The wearable technology trend won't likely wear thin in 2014.

More gadget makers are getting in on the action with wearable health and wellness product revenues expected to rise from $3.3 billion in 2013 to $8 billion in 2018, as estimated by research firm Parks Associates and the Consumer Electronics Association.

Consumers bought more than 40 million connected health and wellness devices in 2013, according to the Parks-CEA study, which estimates that the market will sur ...read more