Nearly a Third of US Broadband Households Owns Streaming Media Players, Says Parks

Basic streaming media sticks will be a popular gift item this holiday season, due to competitive pricing and expanded over-the-top services, said Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates research director, in a research note. Parks divides the streaming media category into basic stick types (Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV) and premium versions (Apple TV, Roku 4). Overall, 14 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a streaming media player by mid-2016, with 31 percent owning one by Q3, said Kraus. Next year, devices will differentiate through additional content options and new technologies such as 4K video, Kraus said. "Ultimately consumers want a simple, uninterrupted experience in accessing OTT content, so that will be the minimum expectation for any device, regardless of the cost.” Kraus said two-thirds of U.S. broadband households connect at least one device to the Internet, with Xbox the leading CE device used for streaming in 14 percent of U.S. broadband households. Following are PlayStation at just under 14 percent and Roku at 10 percent, it said. In other research, Parks said 18 percent of U.K. broadband households have used Netflix in the past 30 days, compared with 20 percent who used the iTV Player and 33 percent who used the iPlayer to stream video programming. Overall, 58 percent of U.K. broadband households used a video-streaming service or player within the past 30 days, it said. A growing number of consumers are willing to pay for subscription services despite availability of free options, said analyst Brett Sappington. Netflix entered Europe “with high expectations,” said Sappington. Subscriber growth has been slow in several parts of Europe with no dominant leaders in subscription services, but Netflix and other entrants are gaining a foothold, Sappington said. Amazon Instant Video had the highest rate of usage in Germany with 17 percent of broadband households, followed by Netflix with 6 percent, he said.