Roku is leading in sales and usage of streaming media players in the US, outpacing Apple TV and other devices.
Roku, the popular media streaming player, has surpassed its rivals in the sales and usage in the United States. The market research firm Parks Associates says that Roku outpaced Apple TV and devices from Sony, Netgear and TiVo in terms of sales and usage.
The study also found that media streaming device sales will go up and will be used by more than 25 percent US households by 2015.
The study showed the company's products accounted for 46 percent of all US set-top streaming device sales in 2013. Also, 44 percent of households that own at least one streaming device use a Roku says Parks Associates found.
Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates, attributed the success of Roku in the United States to its close relationship with Netflix and its price. Kraus also warned the competition will get intense as more companies join the bandwagon.
Apple TV came in second in both sales and usage, with 26 percent share in both categories. Roku picked up the pace last year as the two rivals had a smaller window during the start of 2013. Roku usage was recorded at 37 percent and Apple had 24 a percent share at the beginning of last year. Apple only gained 2 percent while Roku racked up 22 percent over the course of twelve months.
"While approximately 50 percent of U.S. households have at least one Apple product, such as an iPhone or iPad, the company has not yet been able to leverage this success for its Apple TV offering," Kraus highlighted. "Apple has not committed support and promotion to its Apple TV product line in the U.S., and its sales reflect this fact. As Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, emerges as a new competitor in this space, it could awaken the sleeping giant that is Apple."
But Apple is clearly leading the sales market on a global level. In April, the tech giant announced that it sold 20 million units of Apple TV since its debut in 2007 and made over $1 billion in content sales. Roku stands at just 8 million sold units as of late 2013.
