March 15, 2012 — Worldwide television shipments fell in 2011, the first decline since NPD DisplaySearch began tracking global TV shipments in 2004. 247.7 million TVs shipped, a drop-off of 0.3% year over year (Y/Y). LCD TV shipments rose 7% (205M units), which was not enough to offset declines of 7% in plasma TV shipments and 34% in CRT TVs.
LCD panel TVs had seen double digit growth in previous years. 2011’s numbers were "well below industry expectations," said Paul Gagnon, NPD DisplaySearch Director of North America TV Research. Causes? Excessive inventory levels early in 2011 across the US and Europe and a sharp drop in Japanese demand from Eco-Points replacement incentives, which ended in 2010.
LCD TVs’ shipment share increased to a record 86.5% of global TV shipments in Q4 2011, up from 83% in Q3 and 82% one year ago. LCD TV shipment growth is strongest in larger screen sizes with very aggressively priced models shipping for the holiday season. Shipments of 40" and larger LCD TVs rose 20% Y/Y; sub-40" fell 7%. Average prices for 40/42” LCD TVs were down 11% Y/Y; 60”+ average LCD TV prices were down more than 16% Y/Y.
Plasma TV shipments saw their biggest decline yet in 2011, with a nearly 7% drop to 17.2M units shipped. In Q2 2011, plasma units saw a 6% drop Y/Y, 14% fall-off in Q3, followed by an 8% drop in Q4. This decline demand coincides with a shift to larger screen sizes and focus on greater profitability, with the 50”+ share of plasma TV shipments increasing more than 50% for the first time in Q4 2011.
LED backlight penetration continues to grow slowly, rising above 50% of LCD units for the first time in Q4 2011, although only about 3 percentage points higher than in Q3 2011. The high premium for edge-lit LED LCD TVs is still an inhibitor to adoption, but new low-cost direct-lit LED models arriving in 2012 will help speed adoption.
| Table 1: Q4’11 Worldwide TV Shipments by Technology (000s). Source: NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report – Advanced version. | |||
| Technology | Q4’11 Units | Q/Q Growth | Y/Y Growth |
| LCD TV | 64,237 | 24% | 1% |
| PDP TV | 5,195 | 26% | -8% |
| OLED TV | 0.1 | 470% | -73% |
| CRT TV | 4,772 | -25% | -43% |
| RPTV | 32 | 46% | -51% |
| Total | 74,236 | 19% | -4% |
Q4 2011 TV shipments were down 4% Y/Y globally to 74.2M units, with a 1% rise in LCD TV shipments, 8% drop in plasma TV units, and 43% plunge in CRTs. A mature-market 21% Y/Y decline was most pronounced in Japan and Western Europe, with only mild growth in North America. TV shipment growth in emerging regions continues to be strong though, increasing 12% Y/Y in Q4 2011, with LCD TV unit shipments rising 20%.
China remained the top region for TV shipments at 21%, unchanged from the previous quarter, totaling 15.6M units for the quarter and 49M units for the year. China also had strong growth in 2011, with shipments increasing 19% Y/Y in Q4 2011, the highest of any region. More than 90% of TV sets in the region were LCD as of 2011. North America was the second largest region for TV shipments, accounting for 20.5% of shipments in Q4 2011, and was the only developed region to experience Y/Y shipment growth.
3D continues to grow worldwide as a percentage of TV shipments, posting gains in every region, but most impressively in China and Europe. 3D penetration continues to be lackluster in North America, accounting for just 9% of Q4 2011 TV shipments as opposed to 21% in Western Europe and 23% in China. 3D TVs accounted for more than 24M units shipped worldwide in 2011.
Samsung’s global flat panel display (FPD) TV revenue share increased in Q4’11 to 26.3%, which is a record level for any brand and a 3 percentage point increase from Q3 2011. Samsung was also the revenue market share leader in both LCD and plasma. This was the first time that a brand other than Panasonic led in global plasma TV market revenues. Samsung was also the top brand in 3D TV and LED TV shipments. LGE was the #2 brand worldwide at 13.4% and, besides Samsung, was the only other top five TV brand to see revenue growth Y/Y in Q4’11. Sony rounded out the top three at almost 10% revenue share, but saw a more than 30% decline in revenues Y/Y.
| Table 2. Q4’11 Worldwide Flat Panel TV Brand Rankings by Revenue Share. Source: NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report – Advanced version. | |||||
| Rank | Brand | Q3’11 Share | Q4’11 Share | Q/Q Growth | Y/Y Growth |
| 1 | Samsung | 23.0% | 26.3% | 36% | 18% |
| 2 | LGE | 13.0% | 13.4% | 22% | 2% |
| 3 | Sony | 9.9% | 9.8% | 18% | -34% |
| 4 | Panasonic | 8.4% | 6.9% | -2% | -19% |
| 5 | Sharp | 7.5% | 5.9% | -7% | -30% |
The NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report includes NPD DisplaySearch TV market intelligence: panel and TV shipments; TV shipments by region, brand, size, resolution, frame rate and backlight type for nearly 60 brands; rolling 16-quarter forecasts; TV cost/price forecasts and design wins. For more information on this report, visit http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/displaysearch/hs.xsl/quarterly_global_tv_shipment_and_forecast_report.asp NPD DisplaySearch is a global market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain, as well as the emerging photovoltaic/solar cell industries.