Holiday Sales Boost DTV Numbers For October And November

23-Dec-03

Explosive sales of liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma monitors catapulted digital television (DTV) product sales to new heights in October and November, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The impressive holiday sales numbers bring the 2003 DTV unit sales total to 3.5 million, which is a 56 percent increase over the same period in 2002. Year-to-date dollar sales now have reached $5.4 billion--a 45 percent increase compared to 2002. The total number of DTV products sold since introduction in the fourth quarter of 1998 is now 8.24 million units, which represents $14.1 billion invested by consumers in the analog to DTV transition.November proved to be the biggest dollar month for DTV products since the product's introduction in the fourth quarter of 1998, with unit sales totaling 505,223--an increase of 54 percent compared to the same period in 2002. Dollar sales reached $812 million, which represents a 47 percent increase compared to 2002. ""Increased sales of LCD and plasma DTV monitors continue to turbo-boost the overall DTV category,"" said CEA Director of Industry Analysis Sean Wargo. ""These ever-popular flat-panel displays will continue to generate impressive sales even as the flat-panel market changes. Look to see the average size of LCD DTVs decline in the next six months, while the size of plasma DTVs should remain the same or even increase slightly. In the near time, expect to see many happy gift recipients."" During October, factory-to-dealer sales of DTV products totaled 410,692 units with dollar revenues of $639,648. These numbers represent an increase of 28 percent and 27 percent, respectively, compared to figures from October 2002. November sales continued to reflect consumers' interest in HDTV for the holiday season. Factory-to-dealer sales totaled 505,223 units, which was an increase of 54 percent compared to the same period in 2002. Dollar sales reached an all-time high of $812 million, an increase of 47 percent compared to November 2002. CEA Market Research projects that 4.3 million DTV units will be sold in 2003, 5.8 million in 2004, 8.3 million in 2005, 11.9 million in 2006 and 16.2 million in 2007. DTV products are defined 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 transmissions. Data cited in this release is available for purchase through CEA Market Activity Reports and Analysis (MARA) program. For more information, visit www.eBrain.org/mara. For more information about CEA, visit www.ce.org.

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