The consultancy firm Deloitte Touche Ltd. says it expects more than 1 million 8K TVs to be sold globally this year. 

It said in a report that 8K TVs are growing their market share in the overall TV industry, especially in the premium TV segment that’s defined as those models that are priced over $2,500 (around £1,800), South Korean news website The Elec reported. 

Deloitte said in its report that it expects one million 8K TVs priced at around $3,300 to be sold this year, which would mean total sales of around $3.3 billion. 

Despite the heavy marketing efforts of TV brands espousing the benefits of 8K TV, sales have remained relatively low to date, though their market share has been increasing in the premium segment, Deloitte said. 

The report added that just 0.5% of the 220 million TVs sold last year were 8K. 

One of the problems is that 8K content remains relatively scarce. Most of the 8K content available now is remastered digital and analogue content, rather than that filmed in native 8K resolution, Deloitte said. A lack of content was responsible for the slow adoption of 4K TV when it first launched in 2013, though that has since changed and the format is now regarded as standard for most new TVs. 

8K content will emerge slowly. Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK, had planned to broadcast the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in 8K, but that event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s expected to be held this year instead. 

Some streaming providers are also jumping on the 8K bandwagon, albeit tentatively. Last year, Netflix’s Money Heist Season 4 and Guardian of the Galaxy 2 were both filmed in 8K, as was Amazon Prime’s Homecoming Season 2. 

The good news is that more 8K content is expected to be published this year, hence Deloitte’s optimism that demand for 8K TVs will increase. The key factors in adoption will be the increase in 8K content and a decline in panel prices that leads to more affordable televisions. 

8K Association announces new TV specs

In related news this week, the 8K Association, an industry body that certifies 8K TVs and works to raise awareness of their benefits for consumers, said it’s updating its performance specification requirements. 

The new criteria require that 8K TVs enable access to advanced multi-dimensional surround sound formats that can deliver a more immersive home theatre performance. They must also recognise a wider set of video decoding formats to ensure they are compatible with more 8K streaming content. Those requirements are in addition to existing specifications around resolution, luminance, colour and connectivity. 

The 8K Association said the new specs are designed to give consumers more confidence that a TV set meets the industry’s highest performance standards. 

The 8K Association was founded in 2019 and its members include Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, TCL and Hisense, as well as display panel manufacturers such as Samsung Display, AUO and BOE. LG Electronics and Sony notably not a part of the 8K Association.