Growing sales of video receivers such as Apple TV and Roku in 2011 holiday season show strong consumer appetite for OTT video

Sales of digital video media receivers, including Apple TV and Roku, were strong in the recent holiday season, with penetration approaching 13% of U.S. broadband households and matching the 2011 forecasts from the international research firm Parks Associates.

The firm forecasts over 14 million units will sell in 2012. These strong device sales indicate increasing consumer interest in nontraditional approaches to video access. Value of Video: Shifting Consumer Dollars, a recently conducted consumer survey, reports 31% of U.S. broadband households regularly watch TV programs or movies accessed from the Internet on their TVs.

“In the 2011 holiday season, 4% of households bought one of these inexpensive, single-function devices, which enable households to view over-the-top (OTT) video from Internet-based services such as Amazon Prime Instant Video and Netflix," said Kurt Scherf, VP, principal analyst, Parks Associates. “Nearly 20% of these holiday-season buyers are over 45 years of age, so these devices have achieved relatively broad appeal among multiple consumer segments."

Apple reported 2.8 million unit sales of Apple TV in its fiscal 2011 and another 1.4 million coming in the holiday quarter. Roku also enjoyed a solid 2011, with 1.5 million sales.

“While this trend does not yet frequently equate to canceling pay-TV services, it can mean shaving some premium channels for a set of households,” Scherf said. “That is a risk that pay-TV providers must address and a trend that both manufacturers and content providers are following with eagle eyes and plans for defensive actions.”

For more information, visit www.parksassociates.com or contact [email protected], 972-490-1113.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com
 

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