North America LCD-TV Shipments Decline YoY First Time in Q4'08

Taipei, Feb. 19, 2009 (CENS)--Sales of TVs in North America in the fourth quarter 2008 fell 7% from that in the previous (year-on-year, or YoY) to 10.7 million units, according to preliminary results from DisplaySearch, the worldwide leader in display market research and consulting.

As expected, the research firm said, shipments of LCD TVs, the most popular, fell YoY for the first time ever, from 8.9 million in the fourth quarter 2007 to 8.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 (a 2% YoY decline).

Samsung led in the overall flat panel display (FPD)-TV unit share for the sixth straight quarter, up to more than 20% for the first time. Samsung's strong flat-panel TV share can be attributed to success in both LCD and PDP market segments, ranking No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Sony was the No. 2 in combined FPD- TV share at 14.2%, a three percentage-point share gain from the third quarter of 2008, on 29% QoQ unit shipment growth. Sony sells only LCD TVs in the consumer market, like Sharp, so their combined flat-panel TV share is actually only LCD TVs. Sony's fourth-quarter 2008 LCD TV unit share was 16.3%, the highest at any time during the past three years.

Vizio, produced by Taiwan-based AmTRAN Technology, returned to No. 3 in overall flat-panel TV unit share, increasing from 9.0% to 12.3%, the biggest unit share gain among the top-five brands. Strong shipment growth in LCD TVs offset a decline in PDP-TV shipments, particularly above 40-inch. Vizio had the strongest QoQ shipment growth in LCD TV among the top brands and ranked No. 3 in both LCD and PDP TVs.

Q3'08-Q4'08 LCD TV Unit Share and Growth in N. America
Rank	Brand	Q3'08 Unit Share	Q4'08 Unit Share	Q/Q Growth	Y/Y Growth
1	Samsung	18.8%	19.2%	12%	50%
2	Sony	13.9%	16.3%	29%	22%
3	Vizio	8.4%	12.8%	67%	14%
4	LGE	7.6%	9.4%	35%	33%
5	Toshiba	8.2%	9.1%	21%	98%
	Other	43.1%	33.2%	-16%	-37%
	Total	100.0%	100.0%	9%	-2%
Source: DisplaySearch, Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report.