Google Chromecast usage waning, report says

A new report says usage of the Google Chromecast is declining even while adoption of other streaming media players is up. That could be a disturbing trend for Google, which made a big splash last summer when it introduced the $35 streaming media dongle.

Parks Associates said six percent of U.S. households that have broadband Internet service owned a Chromecast during the first quarter. The overall market for streaming media players, including rivals Roku and Apple TV, has increased to 20 percent, up from 14 percent in 2012. But a survey of 10,000 broadband households showed usage of Chromecasts was already declining. About 73 percent of Chromecast owners said they watched online video using the device in during the first quarter, compared to 78 percent who did so in the third quarter of 2013.