• by Wayne Friedman , June 11, 2014

Although initially a hot seller, Google Chromecast usage has cooled somewhat -- partly because of a hotly competitive market overall for Internet-connected TV devices.

Park Associates says new streaming media devices have grown in usage to nearly 20% of U.S. broadband homes in the first quarter of 2014 -- up from 14% in 2012. Homes that own a Chromecast dongle -- which attaches to the back of TV sets -- are at 6%.

Research says Chromecast owners who use the device at least monthly to view Web pages on a TV declined to 57% in the first quarter of 2014 from 76% in the third quarter of 2013. But the percentage of those Chromecast owners who use the device at least monthly to watch online video is still relatively high -- dropping only slightly to 73% from 78%.

John Barrett, director of consumer analytics, Parks Associates, stated: "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% of Chromecast owners say it is the most frequently used streaming device in their home.”

Parks Associates also says overall smart-TV adoption -- from all devices including TV sets -- has climbed to over one-third of all U.S. broadband homes.

The first-quarter 2014 data comes from a consumer survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households.

"Watching TV" photo from Shutterstock.

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