Among households with at least one streaming media player,Rokuis the top choice of 44 percent, compared to 26 percent for Apple’s Apple TV, according to Parks Associates data released Wednesday and cited by CNET.

How is Roku winning?

Parks’ director of research, Barbara Kraus, said that multiple factors have allowed Roku to outpace Apple in US sales and usage, including Roku’s close association with Netflix, the most popular streaming-video service; an unmatched roster of more than 1,700 channel apps; a choice of models at different prices; and good marketing. Yet a key element working in Roku’s favor is the fact Apple itself doesn’t pay much attention to Apple TV, she said. The $99 Apple TV has been more of a bit player than a showstopper in the company’s device pipeline, going more than two years without a hardware refresh to a new generation.

Roku is now licensing its brand to TVs, as introduced at International CES in January. But set-top boxes are its core product.

From the article "In streaming box market share, Roku is #1" by Stephen Silver.

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