• by Aaron Baar , November 6, 2015

The streaming media revolution has taken hold in the United States, and it’s helping the makers of stand-alone streaming device makers — Roku in particular. 

More than a fifth (21%) of U.S. broadband households with a connected electronics device are using it for streaming media, up from 12% last year. Moreover, usage of connected gaming consoles and DVRs for streaming media has decreased, and it has only increased modestly for connected TVs, meaning much of the increase is coming through dedicated streaming players. 

“That’s a substantial [nearly double] increase,” Barbara Kraus, director of research at Parks Associates, tells Marketing Daily. “You don’t see that with any other connected consumer electronics device.”

For the first time since the firm has been tracking streaming media devices, Roku made it into the top three devices most commonly used for streaming, trailing Xbox and Sony PlayStation, but surpassing Nintendo Wii and devices created by Samsung, Apple and Google. 

“[Gaming consoles] were a great way to try out streaming, but for those people who don’t want gaming, there’s no reason to buy a console just for streaming,” Kraus says. “[Streaming] is all Roku does, and they were the first ones out with it.”

Currently 20% of U.S. broadband households own at least one stand-alone streaming media player (or “cube”) and 8% own at least one streaming stick. The increasing penetration gives consumer electronics makers an opportunity to generate new revenue streams by building the connected-living experience through information, entertainment, convenience and utility, she says. 

“CE makers are expected to add more functionality to devices with the hope that the expanding usage can generate more data and increase revenue,” Kraus says. “More use cases running through the pipes increase the potential for revenue, customer stickiness, and data generation for operators.”