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Google Chromecast Usage Wanes as OTT Waters Shift

TMCnet Feature

June 10, 2014

Google Chromecast Usage Wanes as OTT Waters Shift

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By Tara Seals
TMCnet Contributor

Google (News - Alert) Chromecast caused a big splash when it came out last year, as consumers flocked to the $35 streaming dongle that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port. But after the first flush of enthusiasm, it appears that usage of Chromecast is declining.


Parks Associates (News - Alert) noted that adoption of streaming media players has increased to nearly 20 percent of U.S. broadband households, up from 14 percent in 2012. But a first quarter 2014 consumer survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households shows that ownership of Chromecast is holding steady at approximately 6 percent.

However, monthly usage rates for the gadget are slightly lower than the last two quarters of 2013. The percentage of Chromecast owners who use the device at least monthly to view Web pages on a TV declined from 76 percent in Q3 2013 to 57 percent in Q1 2014. Similarly, the percentage of Chromecast owners who use the device at least monthly to watch online video on a TV dropped from 78 percent to 73 percent.

This is in contrast to the firm’s October 2013 findings that daily usage was common, with more than a third (34 percent) of Google Chromecast owners streaming video content from Hulu (News - Alert) to their TV set every day, and 43 percent were doing so with Netflix, a feature heavily promoted during the device's introduction.

"Streaming media players are starting to play a bigger role in home entertainment, but interest in new entry Google Chromecast is waning," said John Barrett, director of consumer analytics at Parks Associates. "Streaming media players, thanks to their ease-of-use, trail only game consoles and smart TVs as the most frequently used streaming media device in the home. By contrast, only about 22 percent of Chromecast owners say it is the most frequently used streaming device in their home.”

Google Chromecast is essentially nothing more than an Internet-connected flash drive that plugs directly into an HDTV to stream content from the cloud or other devices. Content-wise, it offers YouTube (News - Alert), Hulu and Netflix as the predominant options. And, viewers can use a smartphone, tablet or computer as a remote control.

Unlike, say, Apple (News - Alert) TV, Google Chromecast streams content running on iOS, Android, Windows and Google's own Chrome OS. So anyone can pull up a YouTube video from pretty much any device, and fling it to the TV.

Parks said that content providers typically license movies and TV programs for viewing on specific screens such as a TV, computer, tablet or mobile phone. Google’s screen-shifting device complicates matters by allowing the consumer to move content from one screen to the next.

"Google Chromecast is making it easier for consumers to circumvent screen restrictions," Barrett said. "For example, the content from the premium Hulu Plus service is available for viewing on a TV set, but content from the free Hulu service has been technologically constrained to computers. But among those watching Hulu monthly on a TV set via a Chromecast device, roughly 50 percent are using only the free services from Hulu."

The firm said that the tapering off of usage is likely due to consumer education around their options for streaming video to the TV. Smart-TV adoption has also now increased to over one-third of U.S. broadband households—potentially cannibalizing the use of options like Chromecast.

"As consumers add new devices to their home, the usage habits in the home change and adapt to the new device, its benefits and its capabilities," said Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associates. "Chromecast was introduced last summer. Given the low price, many consumers purchased one and began experimenting with it, producing high initial use. Over time, however, owners developed a better understanding of Chromecast’s usefulness and appropriate niche in the video-viewing environment. Some continue to use Chromecast regularly, while others are choosing different options to get online video to their televisions.”




Edited by Maurice Nagle


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