Sales of Large TVs on the Rise
The global TV market is showing signs of escaping three years of recession.
Sales increased in the first quarter of this year as demand for large and high-definition TVs jumped with the upcoming major sports events such as the World Cup in Russia.
World TV sales in the first quarter of this year amounted to 50.57 million units, according to IHS Market, a market research institute. This is an increase of 7.8% (46.88 million units) over the same period last year, putting an end to the downward trend for the three consecutive years.
The global TV market has been on the decline for three years in a row since it recorded sales of 234.92 million units in 2014. Worldwide TV sales last year totaled 216.96 million units, 2.6 percent lower than in 2016 (222.74 million units). It is because local TV makers reduced shipments by more than 10% due to a sharp decline in domestic demand in China.
The global TV market is expected to turn around this year.
IHS Markets forecasted that the global TV market will grow by 4.1% to 225.88 million units this year, to 233.58 million units in 2019, and to 246.65 million units in 2020. In particular, global sales of 65-inch or bigger TVs are expected to grow to 16 million units this year from 11.43 million units last year and 8.08 million units in 2016.
With the trend of big TVs spreading in Korea, sales of TVs with the screen size of 65 inches or more have increased from 30% in the first quarter of last year to more than 50% in the first quarter of this year.
An industry observer said, "With the expanding market of large TVs, growing popularity of OLED (organic light emitting diode) TV, increasing high-definition contents such as UHD and HDR, the world TV market is expected to turn around after the long recession."