The FINANCIAL — This year, TV devices are not just getting bigger, but also offer an increasingly realistic picture. More colors and brightness settings, better contrast and the perfect black are the trends currently dominating the TV market. GfK expects to see growth in all of these segments. These are GfK’s findings for the global TV market on the occasion of IFA 2016 in Berlin.´
In the first half of 2016 104.7 million TVs were sold worldwide, 3.7 percent less than in the first half of 2015. However, not all markets are showing a drop in sales. In Europe (including CIS) 23.3 million devices were sold, which is 4.8 percent more than in the same period last year. Revenues also rose by 3.3 percent to €10.5 billion. Alongside the switch off of SD television in France, the European Football Championship also had a positive effect on the European markets, according to GfK.
China recorded even stronger growth, with a rise in sales of 1.5 million devices to a total of 23.8 million TVs sold. In Germany, too, the TV market demonstrated positive growth in the first six months, with around 1 percent more devices sold than in the same period last year. Revenues even increased by 3.9 percent compared with the first half of 2015.
Ultra-HD TVs show strong growth worldwide
The TV market is being boosted by Ultra-HD (4k) TVs in particular, in other words TV screens with a resolution four times greater than that of a Full-HD TV. Worldwide, sales of Ultra-HD devices rose in the first half of 2016 to 20.8 million (first half of 2015: 11.0 million). This represents an increase of 89 percent. Ultra-HD TVs are particularly high in demand in China, where 9.6 million devices were sold in this segment, representing a share of 40.6 percent. China has a 22.7 percent share of the global TV market.
In Europe, sales of Ultra-HD devices rose to 4.1 million in the first half of 2016, up from 1.6 million in the same period last year. Revenues almost doubled at €4.1 billion. The stronger growth in volume in this category is accompanied by lower average prices. Furthermore, the ever increasing availability of devices in size classes of 40 inches and more is making it easier for consumers to find the right device.
More color and size
Alongside Ultra-HD, many of the latest models are equipped with additional technical innovations. These include HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology, which offers improved contrast and greater differentiation of brightness settings. This goes hand in hand with an expanded color range (Wider Color Gamut), bringing more nuances of color than was previously possible on TV screens.
The perfect TV black is provided by OLED technology, which is appealing to European consumers in particular. 100,000 devices were sold here in the first half of 2016, with a revenue share of 2.3 percent.
TVs in Europe are getting bigger and bigger, even though comparatively larger devices are already being sold in other regions. 500,000 devices with screen sizes of 60 inches and more were sold in Europe. In China this figure was 1.1 million; in North America (USA and Canada) it was as high as 1.8 million.
The global share of smart devices, in other words of internet-enabled televisions with access to app stores, is also continuing to rise. In the first half of 2016, 42 percent of all TV models sold worldwide were smart, compared with 39 percent in the same period last year. Devices in this category now make up 56.8 percent of total revenue.
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