Streaming has become the norm for many TV viewers, but streaming companies are still duking it out for eyeballs and subscriptions. The lead position in consumer accounts mostly see-saws back and forth between Netflix and Disney, while the smaller players are still figuring out their place. 

Both Netflix and Disney launched ad-supported tiers over the last year, infringing somewhat on 's (NASDAQ: ROKU) turf. But Roku has an advantage over these larger peers that is setting it up for success.

Roku has two different businesses: the device business and the platform business. Roku's device business comprises hardware that viewers use to stream content -- either Roku-enabled TVs or devices that physically hook up to screens to allow them to be used to show streaming media -- and its embedded software. Roku has the top streaming operating system in the U.S., even up against rivals like Amazon, which sells its own streaming devices under the Fire brand.

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Source Fool.com