A First: LCD TV Revenue To Drop In 2009
DisplaySearch's Q4 '08 Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, released this week, predicts that LCD TV revenues will fall 16 percent year over year to $64 billion in 2009. In the same period, total TV revenues will fall 18 percent year over year to $88 billion.
DisplaySearch noted that the LCD TV market is expected to reach 102.2 million units in 2008. That represents 29 percent growth year over year from 2007, but the organization's 2009 LCD TV market forecast has already been reduced by 11.5 million units from the 111.9 million DisplaySearch had forecast in Q3 '08.
In 2009, unit growth in Japan, North America and Western Europe is expected to be just 2 percent year over year, and growth in emerging regions will be 45 percent year over year, far south of the 68 percent expected for 2008.
Plasma TVs are expected to grow five percent in 2009, to 14.6 million units -- five percent less than what DisplaySearch had predicted in its Q3 report. Analysts for DisplaySearch suggested the rapid decline in prices of 32" LCD TVs and also a smaller number of major PDP players.
DisplaySearch, based in Austin, Texas, also predicted a tough road ahead for lower-tier LCD TV makers as top brands look to increase their market share and offset declining revenues.
The broad LCD landscape isn't exactly rosy. Large TFT-LCD panels are in decline -- about 26.4 percent for the year so far. Major LCD makers such as Sharp and LG have in recent weeks cut back their productions as part of an industry-wide downturn.