A new consumer research report claims the Apple TV continues to lose market share to competitors like Roku, and Amazon’s Fire TV streaming boxes.
Published on Tuesday, the study by Parks Associates found ownership of the Apple TV in the first quarter of 2017 made up 15 percent of the market, down from the 19 percent market share recorded by analysts in the same period in 2016. By contrast, Roku saw a year-on-year increase in its lead over its rivals, growing from 33 percent in last year’s survey to a dominant 37 percent this year.
Amazon’s Fire TV lineup saw its market share rise during the same period, growing from 16% of households to 24%. Google’s Chromecast also lost viewers, dropping from 21% to 18% during the period.
Parks Associates says the study surveyed 10,000 US broadband households during both periods, the results tabulated are from households that owned at least one streaming media device. 33% of households owned at least one streaming device in 2017.
The surveying firm points to the Apple TV’s higher price as one factor in the device’s loss of market share.
“Roku emerged early as a U.S. market leader for streaming media players, and the company has held firmly to that position,” said Parks Associates Senior Analyst Glenn Hower. “Higher-priced devices, such as the Apple TV, have not been able to keep up with the low-priced and readily-available Roku devices, which can be found at Walmart for as low as $29.99.”
The fourth-generation Apple TV starts at $149 for a 32GB base model.
Although not mentioned in the report, it’s possible that the Apple TV’s loss of market share could also be due to continuing rumors of a 4K HDR-capable model, said to be hitting shelves this year. Some buyers may be holding out for the new model.
