Roku remains the leading streaming player in the United States, but Google Chromecast has knocked Apple TV into second place, according to Parks Associates.
The researcher says that 10% of US households have purchased a streaming media device so far in 2014 – already matching available sales data from 2013 as a whole.
Roku claims 29% of sales, with Google Chromecast on 20% and the more expensive Apple TV on 17%. New entrant Amazon Fire TV is in fourth place with 10%.
“Nearly 50% of video content that U.S. consumers watch on a TV set is non-linear, up from 38% in 2010, and it is already the majority for people 18-44,” said Barbara Kraus, director, research, Parks Associates. “The market is changing rapidly to account for these new digital media habits. Roku now offers a streaming stick, and Amazon’s Fire TV streaming stick leaves Apple as the only top player without a stick product in the streaming media device category.”
Roku leads the US market for streaming media devices but Apple TV, famously described by Apple founder Steve Jobs as “a hobby”, was ahead in global 2013 sales for streaming media players, as reported by Parks Associates in July.
Parks estimates that by 2017 there will be nearly 50 million streaming media players sold globally.
