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Apple reducing its reliance on free trials for Apple TV+ is a “critical point” for the service, said Parks Associates research director Steve Nason, who follows the streaming industry.

“For newer or smaller services, partnerships and promotions are an invaluable customer acquisition tool,” Nason said. “A large percentage of folks follow through, they truly love the service and continue it. Or they forget they gave the service their credit card.”

From the article "Apple’s ...read more

Most companies don’t disclose quarterly churn rates, though third-party organizations such as The NPD Group and Parks Associates track cancellations through research and surveys. Data from analytics firm Antenna has even tracked churn based on specific events, such as the end of “Game of Thrones” and and Netflix’s “Cuties” controversy. Thus far, Netflix and Hulu have proven to be far stickier services than newer products such as Apple TV+ and Peacock. Investors should watch to s ...read more

Parks Associates, a research firm that tracks the connected home, found in a recent survey that one-third of U.S. broadband households use a free, ad-based streaming service, up from 24% a year earlier.

“Consumers are turning to ad-supported streaming services as subscription fatigue continues to settle in,” Brandon Riney, a researcher at Parks, told CNBC in an email. “When discussing attitudes regarding ads on these streaming services, more consumers are willing to endure t ...read more

Roku held 37 percent of the market share of streaming media players as of early 2018, a Parks Associates report found, while Apple TV held 15 percent of the market share. Roku maintains dominance through a variety of devices that let customers access streamed content, including smart TVs and players that can connect standard TVs to streaming.

From the article "Roku CEO explains why Apple is breaking with tradition and putting its streaming services outside its famous walled ...read more

"Nest products are best-sellers in the category," Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said on the April 21 earnings call. "It's a leading brand in the connected home. It's obviously early, but a very exciting category." Alphabet CEO Larry Page said in a statement that Nest's revenue has increased more than 50 percent annually under Fadell.

For the $3.2 billion that Google spent on Nest, more is expected, said Tom Kerber, director of research at Parks Associates.

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Research firm Parks Associates estimates that 86 million streaming devices will be sold globally by 2019. Among U.S. households with broadband, Roku leads with 37 percent market share, followed by Google Cast (previously Chromecast) at 19 percent, Apple TV at 17 percent and Amazon Fire at 14 percent.

From the article "Streaming Wars Heat Up As Roku Goes Ultra High-Definition" by Ari Levy.

"Apple remains the dominant smartphone manufacturer in the U.S., but Samsung is catching up," said Harry Wang, director of mobile product at Parks Associates. "Apple controls 40 percent of the smartphone market, while Samsung has 31 percent and LG is the next closest rival with 10 percent." according to Parks.

From the article "Can Samsung Beat Apple With The New Galaxy S7?" by Althea Chang.

Market research and consulting firm Parks Associates estimates that 19 percent of households with broadband in the U.S. already own a smart home device, thanks in part to increased smartphone ownership.

"Mobile devices .... that's the default user interface outside the home or sometimes even in the home," said Tom Kerber, director of research at Parks Associates. "The smartphone is critical — it opened up the market when smartphones came out."

From the article "What the ...read more