Global TV Shipments Growth Slows in Q3: DisplaySearch

Taipei, Dec. 21, 2010 (CENS)--Global TV shipment growth slowed to only 9% year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter of 2010, after mid-20% rate in several previous quarters, according to DisplaySearch.

The major display-market research firm said that the third-quarter shipments of 59.8 million TVs was a little better than expected, but it was apparent by the end of the quarter that continued sell-through weakness in North America and softer sell-through of TVs during the World Cup in Western Europe have led to increased finished TV set inventory.

Even China, which has been a very hot growth market for LCD TVs in recent years, had increased inventory ahead of the Golden Week holidays in October, although brisk sales during the holiday period eased the pressure.

Most TV technologies, with the exception of the shrinking cathode-ray tube (CRT) TV market worldwide, saw positive YoY growth. Plasma TV shipments were up by 35% YoY to more than 4.8 million units. LCD TV shipments also posted positive growth, rising 22% YoY to 45.7 million units. digital light processing (DLP) rear-projection TVs, which are sold only in North America, posted positive annual growth in the third quarter as consumers concentrate on value during a painfully slow economic recovery.

Despite this, it was the weakest quarter of annual shipment growth since the fourth quarter of 2008 when the global economic crisis significantly reduced global spending on TVs.

After more than doubling in the second quarter of 2010, the share of LED-backlit LCD TV shipments increased just five percentage points to 23% in the third quarter. LED-backlit LCD TVs still carry a significant premium over cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL)-backlit counterparts, DisplaySearch said. Although the premium is dropping, up-selling this technology to consumers has been difficult in the current economic environment.

Q3, 2010 Worldwide TV Shipments by Technology (000s)
Technology	Q3'10 Units	Q3'10 Unit Share	Q/Q Growth	Y/Y Growth
LCD TV	45,669	76.3%	9%	22%
PDP TV	4,838	8.1%	8%	35%
OLED TV	0.2	0.0%	-52%	11%
CRT TV	9,282	15.5%	-6%	-32%
RPTV	36	0.1%	38%	9%
Total	59,826	100%	6%	9%
Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Advanced Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report