According to a Nielsen study published last month, the amount of U.S households with streaming capabilities has grown steadily over the past two years. The study reports that 65% of American households were capable of streaming TV in the first half of the year. Up from 59% a year ago, and 51% in 2017. More and more households these days have smart TVs with internet access, making the streaming revolution more powerful than ever. According to Grand View Research, the streaming market could reach $124.57 billion by 2025. With more and more viewers looking to cut the cord, streaming companies like Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)  are becoming increasingly more interesting to follow as investors try to decide if there is a leader of the pack. 

While these two main players occupy a significant amount of the streaming landscape, Roku and Netflix are two fundamentally different companies. Roku's business is based on streaming players and free content aided by ad-revenue. Netflix, on the other hand, operates on a subscription basis and delivers original content and content from TV and movie companies. Both have been booming as Fool contributor Danny Vena reported in an article two weeks ago. Roku is currently trading around $151.31 per share and Netflix is trading around $291.01 per share. 

At the end of 2018, Roku had about 27 million users. That number is expected to increase to over 35 million in 2019. Comparable to Netflix who had about 33 million subscribers at the end of 2012 which was five years after the company launched its streaming service. The growth rates of the two companies have been similar, although Netflix has been a little more volatile due to their shift in business model from a DVD-mail rental subscription service to strictly online streaming. Just like Netflix, Roku has a tremendous opportunity to scale-up internationally. What's promising for Roku is that their success currently is comparable to Netflix's at the early stage of their streaming years. However, also like Netflix, Roku has a tremendous opportunity to ramp up its international operations as it is currently U.S. focused. 

What this means for investors

Over the next year, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Disney (NYSE:DIS), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), and AT&T (NYSE:T) are all releasing their streaming services which will compete with both Roku and Netflix. Netflix will feel some pressure as Disney+ has pricing starting around $6.99 per month and a $12.99 premium option including ESPN+ and Hulu, putting them below Netflix's premium plan priced at $15.99 per month. Netflix can charge a premium to Disney, Hulu and ESPN due to the high volume of their original content like hit shows Stranger Things and Black Mirror. If they start to lose subscribers they will need to add more content or develop more original hits of their own. All in all, Netflix provides content and Roku provides gear and software to record content. Investors should stay put for now on Netflix but look to target Roku soon as streaming services continue to develop and become more and more unique.