The percentage of LCD televisions equipped with LED backlight technology continues to grow in the American market. According to the latest data from California-based market research firm IHS iSuppli, LED-backlit LCD TV displays made up almost one quarter of all television sets (including plasma TVs) sold in the USA during the fourth quarter of 2010.
iSuppli’s new research revealed that 22.5% of all TVs purchased in the US market in the final quarter of last year were LED LCD TVs, representing a nearly 3-point percentage gain on the 19.6% penetration rate posted in the previous (third) quarter. This perpetuates a trend of steady increase in market share since LCD TV sets featuring edge-mounted LEDs first surfaced in the middle of 2009. Certainly the display technology have come a long way from the final quarter of 2009 when they only accounted for 6% of all televisions bought in the United States.
LCD TVs blessed with edge LED backlighting have gained popularity among consumers worldwide over the past couple of years, owing to their slimmer chassis and lower power consumption. Most HDTV manufacturers have also been working hard to develop and market LED-backlit models, given the price premium they command over conventional CCFL (cold-cathode fluorescent lamp) LCD TV displays, which in theory should deliver higher profit margins. Therefore it is not surprising at all to see LED TV sets slowly but surely capturing market share once held by other display technologies.
That said, three out of five TVs sold in the States in Q4’10 were still CCFL LCD televisions. Sales of plasma TV screens remained flat in spite of competitive pricing: iSuppli opined that this is because of even stronger competition from the LCD TV camp which has overseen some deep discounts, as well as a (largely incorrect) perception among consumers that plasmas are generally lower-specced.