Apple TV and Roku among the most used streaming devices in the US

A new report from Parks Associates reveals that Roku is the most popular streaming device in the United States. It accounts for 46% of Roku player purchases, compared to 26% for Apple TV players.

Apple TV's fight to overtake Roku

Roku is also used for streaming games in the United States. Among US broadband households, 46% use a Roku player, more than the remaining 26% who use Apple TV. This gap has widened since 2013 , when 37% of media players in use were Roku and 24% were Apple TV.

“There are multiple factors that have allowed Roku to surpass Apple in sales and usage in the United States ,” said Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates. “Roku has always had a close relationship with Netflix , the largest source of video downloads , and currently offers more than 1.700 channel apps, as well as a selection of models with different features and prices, all of which influence users’ purchasing decisions. With Amazon entering this category, the pressure on all players to develop the best combination of unmissable content and a simple, intuitive interface will only intensify.”

According to a Parks Associates survey of 10.000 Americans with broadband access, Google Chromecast sold as many units in six months as Roku sold in all of 2013 , but overall, Chromecast usage has steadily declined since its launch. In particular, the company believes Apple will develop a new, more feature-rich version of Apple TV in 2014 , thus creating a more competitive market in the US.

Parks Associates estimates that worldwide sales of multimedia readers will reach almost 50 million by 2017 , and that reaching homes with lower broadband in the US could increase those sales by as much as 38%.