Amazon Fire TV is most popular OTT device in Germany

Amazon is the measure of all things in Germany when it comes to over-the-top content (OTT). Meanwhile, Google and Apple are far behind the e-commerce giant in this area.

Amazon’s Fire TV devices currently reach almost four million German households and, according to expert estimates, could grow to six million by 2023. Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast devices are only penetrating just under one million households each. This is the result of a study on the technical reach of TV platforms on the German market by TeraVolt, an agency for digital TV products.

In the study, the Hamburg-based company also concludes that HbbTV is at present the largest technically consistent hardware base on the market. The HbbTV standard addresses almost 13 million households in Germany and is expected to be available in 20 million households by 2023. TeraVolt’s study is the first to provide a detailed analysis of the most promising devices and technical solutions in terms of reach for programme providers.

Tobias Künkel, managing director at TeraVolt said, “The digital transformation of television brings with it a lot of opportunities, as it weakens the barriers to entry for new players. The problem for programme providers, however, is that they cannot estimate how many viewers they will reach on which platform. So, for a big part they have to act blindly.”

The TeraVolt coverage analysis can help to counteract this uncertainty. In order to further substantiate the validity of the study, the agency has worked closely with an expert panel that assessed and commented on the initial results. This panel includes high-ranking actors from the public and private broadcasters of the German television sector.

In summary, the main findings of the study are the following:

• With almost 13 million addressable households, HbbTV represents the largest technically consistent hardware base. By 2023, it will grow to 20 million households and functionally expand.
• Amazon’s Fire TV sets now reach 3.7 million households, well ahead of Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast devices. The expert feedback supports the optimistic growth forecasts of up to 6 million households in 2023.
• In smart TV platforms, Samsung’s Tizen is well ahead of Google’s Android TV (Sony, Philips, Sharp, and others). The experts are optimistic for both platforms.
• If FireTV and other terminals are also taken into account, a head-to-head race between Tizen (up to 10 million households) and Android TV (up to 12 million households) is to be expected in the coming years.
• With well over 3.4 million households, Deutsche Telekom is the most relevant classic TV platform that supports TV apps today. Vodafone is expected to have great growth potential in future years.