DTV Sales Surge Over 80K In Jan.

By Greg Tarr On Mar 12 2001 - 8:00am

ARLINGTON, VA. -Sales of digital television products continued to accelerate in the opening weeks of the year, as factory sales of DTV sets and monitors passed the 80,000-unit mark in January, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.

Official CEA figures indicate 81,629 DTV displays were sold in the first four weeks of 2001. Factory revenue in January for the category topped $159 million, representing a 234 percent increase over the year-ago period.

CEA anticipates further gains in 2001, following 2000 DTV sales that were up more than 400 percent over 1999 totals.

"With an increasing variety of products expected this year and the certainty of a reaffirmed broadcast standard, 2001 is going to be another banner year for DTV," CEA's Gary Shapiro announced.

CEA said annual unit sales growth and dollar sales for DTV over the first four years (1998-2001) should exceed totals achieved in the same introductory periods for computers, VCRs, CD players and color TVs.

CEA projects sales to continue a rapid growth pace, with unit sales of 1.1 million this year, 2.1 million in 2002, 4 million in 2003, 5.4 million in 2004, 8 million in 2005 and 10.5 million in 2006.