Study: Plasma Big-Screen Leader

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 2/14/2007

Portland, Ore. — Plasma TVs outsold all other display technologies in the 40-inch plus screen sizes in the United States during 2006, according to a market research report issued by Quixel Research.

The Quixel Plasma TV Market Review for Q4 2006 report said that 40-inch and larger plasma TVs outsold microdisplay rear-projection and LCD TV big-screen sets in both unit and dollar volume last year.

Interestingly, a fourth-quarter report from DisplaySearch found that quarter-to-quarter worldwide, big-screen LCD TV dollar volume topped plasma for the first time from the third quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter of 2006.

The plasma TV category grew 83 percent in unit sales and 32 percent in revenue from 2005 to 2006 as dollar volume rose from $5.3 billion in 2005 to $7.1 billion in 2006.

“Manufacturers and retailers enabled price declines that opened the doors for a new set of customers,” stated Tamaryn Pratt, Quixel’s principal. “The aggregate price-per-inch (PPI) fell significantly for the second quarter in a row, dropping below $39 in the fourth quarter. Consumers were able to purchase premium-branded 42-inch HD PDPs as low as $999 over the holiday selling season and that price point kept the other technologies at bay.”

The 42-inch HD average selling price declined 30 percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter in 2006 or fell below $1,400 in the fourth quarter.

“On a quarter-to-quarter basis the severe price cuts suppressed revenue growth in the fourth quarter and the total market value declined 12 percent from Q3 to Q4 2006, or decreased from $2.1 billion to $1.8 billion respectively,” Pratt said “On a year-to-year basis, however, plasma TV revenues were up 2 percent from Q4 2005 to Q4 2006, and up 66 percent in volume for the same time period.”

The total value of the advanced TV market in the United States was worth almost $24 billion in revenues in 2006 and the plasma TV segment represented close to 30 percent of that market.

Quixel is forecasting U.S. plasma TV volumes to double from 2006 to 2010.