US adds 6 million streaming media players over past year

Six Million More U.S. Homes Added Streaming Media Players Over Past Year

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK — Streaming media players were added to 6 million U.S. homes over the past year, increasing ownership penetration to 17 percent of U.S. Internet households in the second quarter (Q2) of 2014, according to the Connected Intelligence Connected Home Report from The NPD Group. Streaming media player ownership is expected to increase to 39 percent of U.S. Internet households by the beginning of 2017.

Base: Installed Streaming Media Players
Source: The NPD Group/Connected Intelligence, Connected Home Report
Amazon Fire TV results not yet available due to launch during Q2

The current, and future, penetration increases are being driven by three main factors; more brands in the market, more apps, and lower device prices.

“In its infancy, the streaming media player market had two major players driving growth; Apple and Roku – now we have four relevant hardware manufacturers with the addition of Amazon’s Fire TV and Google’s Chromecast,” said John Buffone, executive director, NPD Connected Intelligence. “Content is what’s going to bring these devices to the next level. It’s not just necessary to be able to stream popular video services such as Netflix and Hulu. Device manufacturers must also have the ability to attract a wide array of content owners and developers to build apps for their platforms – which is the direction Apple, Roku, Google, and Amazon are taking with their devices.”

Even with all of the upgrades to these devices, prices are coming down, making them more attractive to consumers. The average price of a streaming media player dropped from $88 in 2012 to $61 in the first half of 2014, according to NPD’s Retail Tracking Service.

“The decline in price was initiated by Google with its $35 Chromecast, and it wasn’t long before others, like Roku, responded competitively with solutions such as its HDMI streaming stick for $49,” said Buffone. “Affordability can drive impulse buying, rapid increases in ownership, and in turn it is increasing the number of homes with access to apps on TV. It’s quickly becoming a great new channel content owners can use to grow the audience for popular TV shows, movies and more.”

Methodology – Connected Home Report

More than 5,000 U.S. consumers, age 18 and older were surveyed in the second quarter of 2014. Streaming media player brand share survey results are calibrated to life-to-date unit sales from the NPD Retail Tracking Service.