angacom_anga 29/05/2015 13:14 Page 10
RESEARCH
4K panels set for
record high
TV panel shipment targets
will reach an historic high in
2015, despite the
strengthening dollar against
other currencies, especially
those of the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS)
and emerging markets.
According to IHS, TV panel
unit shipments are expected
to grow 5%, year-over-year,
reaching a record 265
million units in 2015. The
total panel area for TV
display shipments is
expected to increase 9% in
2015 over the previous
year.
As a result of strong
consumer demand for larger
TVs and 4K resolution, TV
manufacturers are concerned
about possible tight panel
supplies, even though the
rising dollar is cutting TV
import prices. The trend
toward larger sizes is also
causing changes in the
production mix. According to
the IHS Quarterly Large-Area
TFT Panel Shipment Report,
because of increased demand
for bigger TVs, 27% year-overyear growth is expected for
larger displays of 49 inches to
55 inches; displays between
58 inches and 65 inches are
expected to grow 26%; while
displays smaller than 40
inches will grow less than 2%.
“Global first-tier TV brands,
22 ADVANCED-TELEVISION.COM
like Samsung and LGE, are
sticking to their aggressive
shipment plans for 2015,
while Samsung Display and
LG Display have less room to
increase volume to meet area
demand from their captive
customers’ demand for larger
TV panels,” said Yoonsung
Chung, director of large-area
display research at IHS.
“These two Korean panel
makers could experience a
tightening of capacity in the
second half of 2015, because
of planned production-line
adjustments.”Other panel
manufacturers,
particularly
in China, are
set to increase their 2015 TV
panel business targets;
however, there is a fear of
increasing inventory as the
gap between TV panel
shipments and television
shipments is widening.
Because of slowing sales of
televisions, combined with
the effects of the strong US
dollar, there is a possibility
TV brands might lower their
business targets. “Global TV
brands have factories all over
the world, but TV panels are
mainly manufactured in East
Asia and traded in U.S.
dollars,” Chung said. “Since
panels comprise the largest
portion of TV material costs,
when the dollar is strong,
television brands suffer.”
The shipment target for 4K
TV panels is also expected to
reach a record high this year.
In all 40 million units are
targeted in 2015 with 15%
penetration. 4K TV panel
shipments are expected to
grow 108% this year, and
Korean panel makers expect
to lead the 4K TV panel
market with 57% share,
followed by Taiwanese
manufacturers at 27%, and
Chinese manufacturers at
12%.
Over half US
households
have
connected TVs
Findings from
Leichtman Research
Group, indicate that
56% of all US
households have at
least one television
set connected to the
Internet via a video
game system, a
Smart TV set, a Bluray player, and/or a
stand-alone device
(such as Roku, Apple
TV, Chromecast, or
Amazon Fire TV) - up
from 44% in 2013,
and 24% in 2010.
While 27% of all
households have a
TV set connected via one
device, 29% of households
are now connected via
multiple devices - up from
17% in 2013.
Along with the increase in
connected TV households
and devices, there has also
been an increase in watching
Internet-delivered video on
the TV set. Overall, 29% of
adults watch Internetdelivered video via a
connected TV at least
weekly, compared to 17% in
2013, and 5% in 2010. In
addition, among Netflix
streaming video users, 85%
say that they watch Netflix
on a TV set - a slightly
higher level than in any
previous year.
These findings are based
on a telephone survey of
1,215 households
nationwide and are part of
an LRG study, Emerging
Video Services IX. This is
LRG’s ninth annual study on
this topic.
Other related findings
include:
l 52% of households get
a subscription video onDemand (SVOD) service
from Netflix, Amazon
Prime, and/or Hulu P \