King of streams: Roku beats Amazon, Google, and Apple combined

By Parker Hall November 5, 2015

Roku 4 — Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

More consumers are using a Roku as their household streaming box than any other non-gaming device. In fact, the underdog streaming brand is used more commonly than Apple, Google, and Amazon combined, according to a new survey by Parks Associates.

While Roku has never had the resources of its competitors, it actually makes sense that the company would land on top. Roku has long had the advantage when it comes to over all app support, making it easy for developers to add functionality to its software with thousands of available “channels.” What’s more, the latest latest flagship from the brand, the Roku 4, features 4k Ultra HD streaming, a best in class operating system, and an excellent mobile app.

While gaming consoles from Xbox and Playstation still rule the roost as far as video streaming devices are concerned, they are actually slowly losing market share to Roku and similar standalone set top streamers, according to the survey.

“Streaming media players continue to stake out a growing portion of the connected home,” said Parks Associates’ Director of Research Barbara Kraus in the report, “Roku devices are now the third most widely used connected CE device, trailing only Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation as the most common platforms to access online video content on a TV set. It is a rapid ascendance for streaming media players, and Roku in particular, especially considering the broad base of gaming console ownership compared to the lower penetration of streaming media devices.”

Approximately a fifth (over 20 percent) of U.S. households that own at least one consumer electronics device are now using a streaming media player to watch their favorite movies and TV shows at home, up from just 12 percent last year.

Parks Associates estimate there are now 13.5 million homes using a set top box as the primary streaming hardware for the household. That’s a big coup for the company, and is indicative of a strongly growing market.

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Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…

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