US researcher DisplaySearch said that demand for TV sets fell by 5% in the fourth quarter to 57.7 million units, down from 60 million a year before. This is the first year on year decline in total TV shipments for more than two years. However the financial side is worse with Actual Selling Prices falling even more, down 7% taking revenue to $30 billion, despite the fact that flat panel technologies, usually more expensive, have picked up another 10% of the market.
Even the total revenue on flat panel TV sets actually fell, down 3% despite a 17% growth in unit volume. It just goes to show that prices are falling faster than volumes are rising.
Flat panel TVs now make up 66% of TV sets shipped during the last quarter. The 1080p (very HD) share of global TV shipments exceeded 20% of units for the first time, and more than 10% of LCD TV sets shipped with 120 Hz+ frame rates ‘ not that many services can handle that as yet.
Annual LCD TV shipment results for 2008 were 105million units, up 33% with China remaining the largest market for TVs on a unit basis, accounting for just over 19% of units, followed by Western Europe and North America at just less than 19% each. On a revenue basis North America remains the largest TV market, with Western Europe catching fast.
Despite the difficult economy and concerns about consumer spending during the holidays, demand for larger screen sizes grew during Q4’08. The share of TVs shipped with 40inch plus screen sizes reached an all-time high of 23%, up from 19% in Q3’08. This was largely the result of significant discounts by manufacturers and retailers, both hoping to avoid excessive inventory after the holidays.
On a brand basis, Samsung remained the global brand share leader in revenues for the twelfth straight quarter, holding its revenue share unchanged at 22%, with Sony next on 15%. Sony enjoyed the strongest share growth and quarterly revenue growth among the top five. Samsung also shipped the most units, with Sony in second and LG Electronics third.