Global Flat Panel TV Revenues Fall For First Time Ever In Q4’08; 40-Inch+ And 1080p Over 20 Percent Of TV Shipments; Share Of LCD TVs With 120 Hz+ Frame Rates Reaches 10 Percent

February 18, 2009

As global economic conditions deteriorated during Q4’08, consumer demand for discretionary purchases suffered, including flat panel TVs. According to the latest findings from the DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, global TV shipments fell more than 5 percent Y/Y in Q4’08 to 57.7M units from more than 60M units a year earlier. This is the first Y/Y decline in total TV shipments for more than two years. Due to ASP declines, total TV revenues fell even more, declining by 7 percent to just over $30 billion despite flat panel technologies picking up more than 10 percent unit share. Combined flat panel TV revenues—which includes LCD, plasma and OLED technologies—posted the first annual decline in a given quarter, falling 3 percent Y/Y despite 17 percent growth in unit volume with falling prices affecting revenues. Globally, flat panel TV share surged from 57 percent in Q3’08 to 66 percent in Q4’08 as rapidly falling LCD prices stimulated a shift from CRT to LCD, especially at smaller screen sizes under 40 inches. The 1080p share of global TV shipments exceeded 20 percent of units for the first time, and a new metric available from DisplaySearch in TV tracking shows that more than 10 percent of LCD TV sets shipped were equipped with 120 Hz+ frame rates. Annual LCD TV shipment results for 2008 as a whole were 105M units, up 33 percent Y/Y and in line with DisplaySearch’s forecast in Q3’08, which was made prior to the global economic crisis. These positive results also pushed LCD TV past CRT TV worldwide for the first time on an annual basis and mark significant progress in the transition from tube to flat panel technologies. China remained the largest market for TVs on a unit basis, accounting for just over 19 percent of units, followed by Western Europe and North America at just less than 19 percent. However, on a revenue basis, North America remains the world’s largest TV market despite strong Q/Q revenue growth in Western Europe. LCD TV picked up market share in every region, with especially strong share gains in China and Eastern Europe. Despite the difficult economy and concerns about consumer spending during the holidays, demand for larger screen sizes grew during Q4’08. The share of TVs shipped at 40-inch+ screen sizes reached an all-time high of 23 percent, up from 19 percent in Q3’08 and 18 percent in Q4’07. This was largely the result of significant discounts by manufacturers and retailers, both hoping to avoid excessive inventory after the holidays. The volume weighted average price for 32-inch+ TV’s fell 19 percent Y/Y during Q4’08, while <32-inch was unchanged from a year ago. DisplaySearch’s TV market intelligence including panel and TV shipments, TV shipments by region by brand by size for nearly 60 brands, rolling 16-quarter forecasts, TV cost/price forecasts and design wins can be found in its Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report. For more information on this report, contact Carl Holec at 512 687 1505 or Carl_Holec@displaysearch.com.

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