David Farnor | On 17, Sep 2014

Roku has now sold 10 million boxes in the US.

The company first launched a streaming media player in May 2008, a device which streamed Netflix to TVs. Since then, Netflix has seen its membership surge – and the popularity of streaming media devices has soared with it.

Roku continues to lead the pack today, despite the sector becoming increasingly crowded with rival devices – this year alone has seen Google Chromecast and Fire TV launched in America, with Amazon’s set top box set to land in the UK next month. In a recent study, though, Roku is the most used platform, accounting for an aggregate 37 million hours of video streamed a week compared to Apple TV’s 15 million, Chromecast’s 12 million and Amazon’s 6 million.

When consumers were asked which device they would recommend to friends, Roku were also ahead of the competition, with a Net Promoter Score of 46 – compared to Apple TV’s 30, Chromecast’s 23 and Amazon Fire’s 15.

It helps that Roku has strong market penetration too: as well as its own range of boxes, Roku has teamed up with Sky to create the NOW Box, a model it is keen to replicate: the company announced this month that it is open to licencing its technology out to other broadcasters or providers.

“We’re thrilled that Roku is recognised for making America’s favourite streaming players,” says Anthony Woody, founder and CEO of Roku. “Our goal is to make TV better for everyone and that single focus guides us to create better ways for consumers to easily and instantly enjoy the best streaming entertainment.”

The company has also just unveiled Roku TV, its own range of flat-screen smart TV units with the Roku technology built in. There has been no announcement yet about when they will be released in the UK.

Read our review of the Roku Streaming Stick, launched earlier this year.

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