By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times –
LOS ANGELES — Worldwide television shipments fell nearly 8 percent year over year in the first quarter, marking the steepest rate of decline since the second quarter of 2009.
TV shipments totaled 51 million units for the quarter, according to a report from market research firm NPD DisplaySearch. The firm said the biggest contributor to the decline was a slowdown in shipments of LCD TVs, which fell year over year for the first time in the history of the category.
“Soft demand and cautious expectations about the upcoming year in many parts of the TV supply chain have led to a slowdown in shipments,” said Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV Research for NPD DisplaySearch.
Gagnon said key component prices, such as LCD panels, are not expected to decline much in 2012, and many brands are concentrating on improving their bottom line.
LCD TV shipment share fell slightly from the fourth quarter because of a seasonal shift to emerging markets, where demand for cathode-ray tube or CRT televisions is higher, but is up four percentage points from a year earlier to 84.2 percent, the group said.
LCD TV is capturing market share at 40-inch and larger screen sizes because of a sharp decline in demand for plasma televisions. The average LCD TV screen size increased 5 percent year over year in the first quarter, passing 35 inches for the first time, with gains in both emerging and developed markets.
Plasma TV unit shipments continued to decline, falling 18 percent in the first quarter after an 8 percent year-over-year decline in the fourth quarter.
“The popularity of plasma TV among consumers is waning, and a large majority of the recent shipment volume remains centered on low-priced 2-D HD models, indicating consumers are buying on price when shopping for plasma,” NPD DisplaySearch said.
Shipment share of 3-D TVs continues to grow, albeit more slowly in recent quarters, rising to slightly more than 14 percent of total TV shipments and 16 percent of flat-panel TV shipments. Demand for 3-D in emerging regions is higher than in developed regions, with 16 percent of flat-panel TV units shipped to emerging markets compared with 15 percent among developed regions.
Samsung was the No. 1 flat-panel TV brand, with revenue share remaining around 26 percent.
