Apple grabs 56% of dedicated streaming devices market

[Jos]

Apple may view its set-top box as little more than a hobby at this point -- or so they claim -- but apparently it's popular enough to attract more buyers than any of its direct rivals. According to a report by market research firm Frost & Sullivan, the Apple TV commanded a 56.1% share of the market for dedicated streaming devices in 2012, with the Roku a distant second at 21.5% and TiVo bringing up the rear at 6.5%.

That’s despite offering relatively narrow lineup of channels -- though major services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go and YouTube are all there. The company also offers content a la carte through iTunes and has grown its sports offerings by adding WatchESPN alongside existing MLB.tv, NBA and NHL channels.

Curiously, while the slowly growing catalog goes some way into making the Apple TV a worthwhile purchase, Frost & Sullivan claims AirPlay is actually the primary reason for getting the $99 device. The feature makes it dead simple to mirror video and audio from OS X, an iPhone or iPad onto a TV screen or stereo system.

Google is notably missing from the chart, lumped into the ‘Others’ category with the rest of streaming boxes struggling to gain a wider audience. Of them, Frost & Sullivan estimates the discontinued Logitech Revue has the lion’s share of Google based devices, and notes that the company is still committed to this segment despite its limited success so far. Recent Google TV devices include Vizio’s C0-Star device and Asus’ Qube.

It should be noted that this only covers dedicated streaming boxes. The full report available to paying F&S subscribers breaks out market share and sales numbers for streaming devices including tablets, phones, smart TVs, game consoles and IP streaming devices as well, which easily eclipse Apple TV sales figures. Dedicated streaming boxes make up for less than 1% of the market when accounting for all others.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/53259-apple-grabs-56-of-dedicated-streaming-devices-market.html

 

[Vrmithrax]

The numbers make sense, since they are only units sold in 2012, not total units in operation... Apple had a big push with their 3rd gen AppleTV unit in 2012, so I would expect their sales to have been rather high in that timeframe (3 of my friends replaced their gen 1 units with the latest to get 1080p). Have to wonder if anyone has actual figures on streaming units in use? That would be a much more interesting comparison, to see what the actual operational market share is... Really hard to get that kind of data, though.

 

[wastedkill]

I dont see a point in streaming devices when we have stuff like netflix its cheap and its all software.

 

[9Nails]

I'm thinking that Apple is trying to develop this market and posting this news to attract potential customers.
This news is worthy is in the light of people cutting the cord abandoning cable or satellite, leaving this to be considered your TV receiver alternative. But as Wastedkill points out, there are many free alternatives to this that you already own so even I see this as something of a pointless metric.

 

[Tanstar]

Tivo has a dedicated streaming device? My Tivo DVR and PS3 both give me access to most of the downloadable/streamable tv content out there.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Impressive. The Apple TV lacks some functionality, but it is still better than a Chrome box IMO.

 

[Guest]

They get to these numbers by selling mass quantities to large companies they're contracted which are then literally given away. Apple charts literally mean nothing to me any more.

The important question is who's leading the "Streaming" market.
1- Netflix
2- Amazon VoD
3- Hulu Plus
4- Vudu
5- iTunes (Which is notably better for music, not necessarily video content).

Who cares about "dedicated streaming devices" when overall your streaming service is not even in the top 3 of most used. This leaves out other major services like in-home DVR streaming.

 

[tipstir]

Don't buy it there are many ways to stream and they're not taking those into account. Only what Apple TV sold seem more on target.

When they do these surveys I didn't get a call asking me how many network media streamers I own. So Others would be larger count. You can stream from your Network Media Players, NAS, Web, PC, tablet, netbook, laptop, desktop, workstation and yes from the server, Let's not forget Windows Media Center, XBOX, PS3, Wii can Stream so much they don't take into account.

So again another call for AppleTV boxes to be counted. Everything else is estimated results.