OZ TV Market Slumps 2014 World Cup Could Pull It Up

According to new research the market is
witnessing a rare deceleration in the LCD TV market according to IHS as global
shipment of TV’s fall from 238.3 million in 2012 to 225.1 million units in
2013.

 It
was the second straight year of contraction after a 7% loss in 2012, in 2011
the market surged 11%.

“The global TV market continues to be
in transition following a golden period of tremendous growth from
2009-2011,” said Jusy Hong, principal analyst for consumer devices at IHS.
“TV shipments were down again in 2013 just like in 2012, but an unusual
development was the slow market in Asia-Pacific which until recently was among
the brighter spots for the industry.”

Adding to the market’s woes, Hong added,
cash-strapped consumers in North America and Western Europe showed little
appetite to buy new TVs, especially as these territories are nearly saturated
from flat-panel sets during the last major upgrade of the growth years, said
IHS.

In Asia-Pacific where Australia is the
biggest market LCD TV shipments in 2013 amounted to 23.8 million, down from
25.4 million in 2012. It also been revealed that most major brands are
eliminating cheap TV’s from their range because of what IHS research describes
as vanishing profit margins. With LED sets still beyond the reach of many, TV
demand in Asia-Pacific plummeted in 2013 and continues to remain on a holding
pattern, even as consumers hope for prices to come down, Hong noted.

Despite the sobering numbers for 2013,
worldwide TV shipments are projected to improve in Australia this year as
vendors roll out new 4K and OLED TV’s and consumers move to buy a new large TV
in time for the 2014 Soccer World Cup in Brazil.

IHS said that Worldwide TV shipment totals
will also start climbing in 2014 because of new AMOLED sets entering the
market, making their appearance at retail in perceptible volume for the first
time. Featuring thinner profiles and higher contrast ratios than the current
crop of LED-backlit LCD TVs, OLED TVs will see shipments grow from an initial
low starting base to some 8.1 million units by 2018.