Record-Breaking Unit Sales Of DTV Products During First Quarter 2003

28-Apr-03

Expanding on the momentum generated by outstanding product sales during 2002, manufacturer-to-dealer sales of digital television (DTV) products reached new heights during the first quarter of 2003 with unit sales totaling 766,373 and dollar revenues of more than $1.2 billion, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The 2003 first quarter sales surpassed the 2002 first quarter total by 86 percent in units and 64 percent in dollars. CEA defines DTV products as integrated sets and monitors displaying active vertical scanning lines of at least 480p and, in the case of integrated sets, receiving and decoding ATSC terrestrial digital broadcasts. ""These first quarter sales numbers demonstrate what we predicted at the 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January--that 2003 will be the year of HDTV,"" said Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of CEA. ""Not only are manufacturers continuing to roll out innovative DTV sets and displays at consumer-friendly price points, but because of the increased availability and amount of compelling DTV programming available over-the-air, we are seeing growth in sales of ATSC receivers as well.""In fact, CEA reported that first quarter 2003 sales of standalone set-top box units totaled 49,929 units and some $23.27 million in revenue, which represents a 162 percent unit increase and 147 percent revenue increase compared to the first quarter of 2002. The cumulative DTV set-top box sales figure--sales from 1999 through March 2003--now has reached 348,019 units. That brings ATSC-receiving products, including both integrated sets and standalone set-top boxes, to 633,897 units.""Provided we continue to see more HD programming and more broadcast stations on the air transmitting a full-power digital signal, we will continue to see that ATSC-receiving units figure rise. Additionally, the historic cable plug-and-play agreement of last December--if swiftly adopted by the Federal Communications Commission--holds tremendous promise for cable-compatible DTV products and America's cable consumers.""CEA also released single-month sales data for March 2003, in which DTV product sales totaled 328,981 units on dollar sales of $519.6 million. These figures represent a 137 percent and 107 percent increase for unit and dollar sales, respectively, compared to the same period in 2003.Data cited in this release is available for purchase through CEA's Market Activity Reports and Analysis (MARA) program. With more than 500 reports published annually, the MARA program is recognized as the ""authoritative source"" for data on the consumer electronics industry. For more information, visit www.eBrain.org/mara.For more information about the CEA, visit www.ce.org.

Read More:
http://www.ce.org