Google's entry into the streaming market and then the entire media industry [/caption] According to Parks Associates, Google's $35 Chromecast is now #2 in streaming contents for US households. Google's affordable streaming stick is trailing only Roku, still the #1 choice for streaming content.
In 2013, Parks Associates reported that it was Apple TV that was ranked second to Roku. Google's Chromecast is now more preferred than Apple TV. Following the Chromecast' success, Roku too has begun offering more affordable versions of its player, but competition is stripping away its market share.
This year, Parks Associates' market research reported that Roku had a 29% of sales to-date, Google's Chromecast had 20% of sales, and Apple TV had 17% of sales. The Parks Associates study is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband homes.
If Google dominates both streaming access (Chromecast) and streaming content (YouTube), then Google could become the dominant media company in the future. YouTube is already the undisputed online video provider with many users treating the platform as an on-demand video delivery platform. If Chromecast becomes the primary means by which users stream content, Google can very easily steer them to Google content. This should keep many traditional industry players up at night.
Again, I would argue that it's time for Apple to create their own YouTube-like platform to secure the iOS users and their media content before it's too late. In a war of attrition between Apple and Google, Google is likely to win simply because its varied resources (Gmail, Google Maps, Google Voice, YouTube, etc) is able to siphon users away from the iOS ecosystem. Apple's iTune store is still a secure bastion, but Google Play Store is catching up and Chromecast would allow it to obtain even more users.
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