Telstra who is rolling out their new Roku 2 streaming media player, are hoping that Australians take to the new $107 box similar to the demand generated in the USA.
A new research study from Park Associates has revealed more consumers are using a Roku streaming-media player than any other brand of streaming player.
The roll out of the new Telstra Roku 2 device that is backed by an $11M advertising campaign, could spell the death knell for several set top box players including the likes of Topfield and Humax who are struggling to generate sales in Australia.
Last month Ice TV was placed into administration after trying to flog a new set top box called Skippa, the overpriced box also had a feature that cut out advertising.
Despite leaving hundreds of consumers out of pocket the founder of Ice TV Colin O’Brien is back in business and has avoided being declared a “bankrupt”, he is now trying to flog a TV program service that is available for free in most TV’s.
Hundreds of consumers who placed deposits or in some cases paid in full for their new Skippa set top box are facing the real probability that they will never see their money or get a new set top box.
The popularity of streaming boxes and catch up TV services does away with the need for a timed program guide or the need to invest in an expensive set top box with a drive.
Parks found that the percentage of households using a streaming-media player as their primary platform for online video streaming is rising, while the percentage using a game console as their primary video-streaming device is slipping.
A total of 21 percent of U.S. broadband households with at least one Internet-connected CE device use a streaming-media player as their primary platform for streaming online video, up from the year-ago 12 percent, Parks said.
In contrast, streaming-video usage declined for connected gaming consoles, and it increased modestly for smart TVs, the research company said. Game consoles, nonetheless, are still used more than streaming-media players to stream video, Parks said.
In the first quarter of 2015, 97.6 million households had broadband Internet access, and 65.8 percent of them, or 64 million, connected at least one CE device to the Internet. Of those 64 million households, 21 percent mostly use a streaming-media player to stream content from the Internet, Parks said.
Also among households with at least one Internet-connected CE device, 14 percent use a Microsoft Xbox as their primary platform to stream video, and slightly less than 14 percent use a Sony PlayStation. (See chart below.) A total of 9.7 percent use a Roku streaming player as their primary streaming device. Streaming devices from Apple, Google and Amazon were used by a combined 9.7 percent of the households, and 7.6 percent used a Nintendo Wii.
Also among households with at least one Internet-connected CE device, 8.2 percent used a Samsung device such as a TV or Blu-ray player, with 5.6 percent using a Vizio device, 2.7 percent using an LG device, and 2.7 percent using a Sony device.
“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,” said research director Barbara Kraus. “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.”
