TV Shipments, Revenues to Drop in ‘09

With the econo-pocalypse in full swing and unlikely to get better anytime soon, DisplaySearch predicts in its revised “Q4 ‘08 Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report” that LCD TV revenues will fall year-on-year for the first time since those flat-panel sets were introduced in 2000, and that 2009 will be the toughest year yet for the TV industry and supply chain (hat tip to CE Pro).

What will drag the market down? (And don’t just say “the economy.”) Falling TV prices along with reduction in shipment growth for both LCD and plasma TVs. DisplaySearch projects that global TV shipments in 2009 will fall to 205.3 million units from 206.4 million units in 2008. LCD TV revenues are forecast to plummet 16 percent year over year to $64 billion in 2009, and total TV revenues will drop 18 percent year over year to $88 billion.

The market’s already starting to feel the pinch right now. A recent Nielsen report said that 23.3 percent of U.S. homes owned an HDTV, but that number won’t be jumping up this quarter. An NPD Group survey found that one-third of people who were considering buying an HDTV could no longer afford one. And earlier this month, DisplaySearch had predicted a 1-2 percent decline in sales during the fourth quarter of this year.