TV shipments fall most in 5 years in Q2

Global TV shipments declined 8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter to 48 million units, the largest annual decline in a quarter since Q2 2009, IHS reported. The market researcher attributed much of the decline in sales to slowing growth in LCD TVs, which now account for 99 percent of all TV shipments. LCD TV sales have not made up for the lost volume of CRT and plasma televisions, which have largely left the marketplace. 

TV demand is negatively affected by the global economic slowdown, particularly the rise in local currency prices against the US dollar. IHS found shipments fell in Western Europe and Japan and especially in the emerging regions of Latin America, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. North America showed positive growth in Q2, while sales are slowing in China.

4K TV was a bright spot in the global TV market, with unit shipments growing 197 percent year-on-year in Q2 to 6.2 million units, IHS estimates. Across the TV market, Samsung led global sales, with a nearly 29 percent revenue share. LG Electronics followed at just over 14 percent and Sony at 7 percent. Two Chinese TV brands, Hisense at 6 percent and TCL at 5 percent rounded out the TV brand rankings.