TVs driving electronics growth

Alluring new display technologies will tempt consumers to greatly increase their spending on televisions during the next three years, analysts have reported.

As a result, flat-screen TVs are replacing iPods, digital cameras and other mobile devices as the primary source of consumer electronics market growth, according to Nomura Securities of Japan.

"While growth in sales of mobile devices are likely to slow, we expect TV sales to increase by more than 20 per cent year on year, driving overall demand in 2006," wrote Nomura analyst Eiichi Katayama in a recent report.

Nomura forecasts show that TV revenues will continue at similar rates of increase over the next three years, while sales of other consumer electronics products remain relatively static.

Even though actual unit shipments are increasing only two or three per cent per year, total global TV market revenues will rise more than 10 per cent each year to 2008, according to US-based market research firm DisplaySearch.

The global TV market is forecast to expand from an estimated $96bn in sales and 190 million units shipped in 2005, to $125bn and over 200 million units shipped in 2009.

The increasing revenue per unit is coming from the new popularity of big, flat screens. While large screen rear projection TVs have been popular in the US for many years, they have failed to take off elsewhere. They are generally seen as too big for homes in Europe and Japan, and too expensive for other markets.

With the flood of affordable LCD and plasma displays reaching the market, average TV screen sizes will rise dramatically, from about 25in last year, to 33in in 2008, Nomura predicts.

Last year, flat panels accounted for about half of all TV revenues. "By 2008 we expect flat panel models to account for 84 per cent of TV shipment value," said Katayama.