Following a decline in 2012, global TV market won’t recover until 2015.
Regional woes
The decline in Western Europe was predominantly due to the economic situation, combined with the analog switch-off. Markets such as France, Italy and Spain have experienced severe declines following analog broadcast switch-offs in 2010 and 2011. At the same time, there were declines in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Greece because of financial challenges.
There was, however, some growth generated by the more prosperous Central European nations, with Germany in particular still continuing to show impressive growth.
In North America, the decline was caused by a mixture of economic factors and by the fact that consumers had increased their demand in 2010 and 2011. By 2012, however, buyers had expended their disposable income for television purchases.
Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific market stalled because of lower growth than expected in India, together with declining sales in established markets such as Australia.
The Middle East and Africa continued their overall growth, but strife in certain countries—particularly Syria—had a negative impact on television shipments.
Television market rebounds in 2014
In 2013 the global TV market will stabilize, with shipments remaining flat compared to 2012, as economic conditions even out. Shipments will rise by a scant 0.3 percent for the year.
However, shipments will return to growth In 2014 with a 2.8 percent increase. The Football World Cup, to be held in Brazil, will boost Latin America sales, while China is expected to continue to prosper.
By 2017 global television shipments will rise to 270.5 million units for a number of reasons—as Chinese manufacturers flood the Asia-Pacific markets with new models; as Japan, North America and Western Europe continue to recover; and as ultra-high-definition (UHD) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV uptake becomes more affordable.
LCDs fall for first time
The LCD TV market fell for the first time ever on an annual basis in 2012, with shipments declining to 209.8 million units, down slightly from 211.3 million in 2011. However, shipments are expected to return to growth and continue expanding through 2017 as new technologies like Smart TV and UHD increases.
Plasma TV shipments fell to 13.1 million units in 2012, down from 17.9 million 2011. This is partly due to Panasonic significantly reducing its supply of plasma televisions, and partly due to large-sized LCD displays becoming increasingly cost effective. North America continues to be a stronghold for plasma, as does China, but all regions experienced an annual decline in shipments. By 2017 it is anticipated that Plasma will be a niche product, and that the market will have almost completely transitioned to LCD TV and to OLED.
CRT-TV shipments slid to 15.5 million, down nearly 40 percent from 25.2 million in 2011. Global CRT shipments will cease by 2016, IHS expects.
