Roku and Google are currently in a heated battle over YouTube TV and video standards, but as that goes on, it’s interesting to see context developing around Roku’s side. A report this week shows that the marketshare Roku holds in the global streaming market keeps falling.
Conviva reports (via Protocol) that Roku has seen a 3% drop year-over-year of global TV viewing-time from 33% in Q1 2020 to 30% in Q1 2021. That may not sound like much, but in reality, it’s very bad news for the company.
Between this time in 2020 and this point in 2021, worldwide global video viewing grew by 36% with much of that growth concentrated in regions such as Europe, Africa, and South America. Those are markets where Roku simply isn’t a major player. Roku dominates the US market with a strong 37% share, dwarfing even competitors such as Apple and Google. Still, Roku has little to no share internationally.
In Europe, Roku holds just 8% of the market. In South America, which saw the biggest jump in global marketshare this year, Roku is a mere 4% of the market. Samsung holds a dominant share there with Google’s Chromecast and Android TV platforms also holding a hefty total. Roku holds almost no stake at all in Asia where Google’s Android TV is just shy of half of the streaming market.
What does this mean for Roku? Well, it’s certainly motive for wanting to squeeze its streaming partners. The US streaming market is “maturing” and growth right now is not here, it’s international.
More on Streaming:
- Roku vs. Google: Who’s really to blame in this battle that only stands to hurt customers?
- These are the remotes you’ll see with Google TV devices this year [Gallery]
- Google may require AV1 codec support on all new Android TV devices starting March 31
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