TV Demand For 2010 Outlook Improves

LCD TV forecast for sales has increased based on strong demand and lower pricing

US survey specialist DisplaySearch says that total TV shipments will rise from 205 million units in 2009 to 218 million units in 2010, a six percent increase following 2009’s one percent shipment decline. Key drivers of this growth are demand resilience in developed TV markets like North America, Japan and Western Europe, as well as accelerating demand from emerging markets for flat panel TVs.

“China is a hot growth engine for the global flat panel TV market as the transition from CRT to LCD and plasma TVs continues to drive market growth,” observed Hisakazu Torii, VP of TV Market Research for DisplaySearch. “Government stimulus activity is having a positive effect on demand for flat panel TVs in both China and Japan, while several upcoming analog-to-digital broadcast changes in 2010 are likely to increase demand in Western Europe for digital TVs. Meanwhile, large price declines in North America have been driving strong unit demand, especially for 19-inch to 32-inch sizes.”

DisplaySearch has upgraded its 2009 LCD TV forecast to 140.5 million units, based on surging demand in China, as well as improving outlook for LCD TVs in Western Europe and North America from large price declines.

The 2010 LCD TV forecast has been upgraded to 171 million units, which would be a 22 percent increase over 2009 levels. The strong demand in 2009 has come mostly from smaller screen sizes (less than 40-inch) where prices are near or below $500, but DisplaySearch now expects larger screen sizes to resume share growth in 2010 and beyond as economic conditions continue to improve.

Advanced technologies like LED backlights and 3D are expected to provide a further catalyst for growth, particularly in higher price point products where the premiums are more acceptable. LED backlight LCD TVs in particular are poised for explosive growth in 2010 as nearly every major TV brand will introduce a wide variety of models and sizes with aggressive targets for growth. Starting in Q1’10, DisplaySearch will report actual and forecast data for LED backlit LCD TV shipments by brand, region, screen size, resolution and frame rate.