The forecast: In 2021, US Roku monthly users will increase by 11.5%, reaching 111.7 million monthly users. With these figures, Roku maintains its position as the most-used connected TV (CTV) device in the US market, though Amazon Fire TV is catching up.

Amazon’s new smart TVs will disrupt both the connected TV (CTV) and TV measurement industries: Amazon Fire TV is already a major player, but its new CTV lines will let it take advantage of the ongoing fracturing of TV measurement.

In the US, Roku and Fire TV are the most popular systems that people use for CTV viewing. Smart TVs are the most common devices used for streaming. There is overlap between categories. Our Roku and Fire TV users include people who use Roku- and Fire TV-powered smart TVs as well as people who bought Roku and Fire TV streaming sticks.

The main variants include several models of Fire TV sticks that plug directly into the TV via an HDMI port and come with a remote; the Fire TV Cube that also includes a speaker and hands-free connection for TV controls and interacting with Alexa; and smart TVs and sound bars that include the Fire TV operating system.

At its NewFronts event, Amazon unveiled interactive ads for streaming video via the IMDb TV app on Fire TV. Upon seeing these ads, viewers can take actions like “add to cart” and “buy now,” using either Alexa voice commands or the Fire TV remote. Introducing direct calls to action into a traditional brand advertising environment could be a game-changer for TV advertising.

The service was not initially available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, the two most popular CTV viewing platforms. These days, HBO Max is widely available, including on Roku and Fire TV. And now that HBO Max has been out for more than a year, we also have clearer numbers from the company about how well the service is doing in adding subscribers.

The service was not initially available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, the two most popular connected TV (CTV) viewing platforms. These days, HBO Max is widely available, including on Roku and Fire TV. And now that HBO Max has been out for more than a year, we also have clearer numbers from the company about how well the service is doing at adding subscribers.

In North America, TV is the dominant screen for viewing OTT video content, accounting for 82% of time spent on the activity in Q2 2021.

Consumer electronics will be the second-fastest-growing category at 12.5%, fueled by new devices, such as the iPhone 13 and Amazon Fire TV Omni Series, and strong demand for wearables. Meanwhile, categories like computers and monitors may experience some fatigue.

Amazon Fire TV Omni Series. The company’s first-ever line of full-screen TVs will be available in late October. Even without the fanfare of an official Q4 Prime Day, consumers anticipate ramping up their holiday spending early. A recent survey from Jungle Scout found that 31% of US consumers expected to start their holiday shopping in October or earlier, and 55% expected to start before Thanksgiving.

BMW and Amazon announced a 31-inch monitor with Fire TV that drops down and provides backseat passengers with an in-car theater experience. Volvo announced built-in Google Assistant features. Google partnered with Motorola to release a dongle that permits wireless support for Android Auto. Why It Matters. Like the smart home, connected cars are going to be new portals to the internet.

It took a few months for NBCUniversal’s Peacock to become available on Roku, and it still isn’t on Amazon Fire TV. HBO Max announced that it would become available on Amazon Fire TV in November and on Roku in December. Ordinary viewers who don’t follow the digital video business regularly might get confused whenever they hear about a streaming service but cannot access it on their CTV device.

eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom compares our forecasts of Amazon Fire TV and Roku users in the US.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch discuss whether Tiktok will be banned or sold, and where user growth will come from. They then talk about Facebook's ad delivery algorithms, Twitter's healthy public discourse initiatives and Facebook Messenger's new social sharing feature.

The company’s Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Newfronts presentation this year highlighted new shoppable video formats that allow viewers to add to cart, buy now, and so forth, by using their voice or an Amazon Fire TV remote to interact with the ads.

In addition, TikTok content is starting to become available on connected TV (CTV) devices, such as the Amazon Fire TV in the US and Canada. That’s another indication that the appeal of TikTok isn’t the brevity of the videos, but the music, the catchy editing tools, and the incredible virality of the content. It’s already happening in China—where short videos first took hold.

This year, its US audience will also boast 72.7 million monthly Fire TV users, who are using Amazon’s CTV operating system to watch on devices including Fire TV Sticks and other manufacturers’ smart TVs, and 41.5 million monthly viewers of Twitch.

eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom explains why our projections for Apple TV users are well below rivals Roku and Amazon Fire TV.