Apple TV Slips to Fourth Most Popular Media Streaming Device [Chart]

The Amazon Fire TV has overtaken the Apple TV as the third most popular media streaming device, according to a new Parks Associates report.

Amazon, Apple, Google, and Roku accounted for 86% of all units sold to U.S. broadband households in 2014. It's estimated that 86 million streaming media devices will be sold globally in 2019.

“Roku continues to lead streaming media device sales in the U.S. with 34% of units sold in 2014. Google is second with 23%, and new entrant Amazon overtook Apple for third place,” said Barbara Kraus, Director of Research, Parks Associates. “The market consolidation around these four brands forces new entrants to develop more creative features and functionality to tap into the strong consumer demand for streaming content. Devices with additional functionality such as the Intel Compute Stick may be a sign of things to come, where streaming is not the primary function but an extra feature to provide additional value.”


Nearly 20% of U.S. broadband households own at least one streaming media player, such as a Roku 3, Amazon Fire TV, or Apple TV. Eight percent own at least one streaming stick, such as a Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV Stick, or Roku’s HDMI Streaming Stick, while 2% own both form factors.

Roku devices are the most used among U.S. broadband households that own a streaming media device at 37%, followed by Google Chromecast at 19%, Apple TV at 17%, and Amazon Fire TV devices at 14%.

Sales of the Apple TV are likely to skyrocket if Apple does unveil a new one next month. The new Apple TV is said to feature an A8 chip, increased storage, a slimmer chassis, a touchpad remote, an improved OS with Siri voice control, and an App Store.

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