According to NPD DisplaySearch global TV shipments will grow by less than 1% in 2014-- an improvement of sorts over 2012 and 2013, where shipments dropped by -6% and -3% respectively.

Such declines are in part due to the eventual disappearance of plasma and CRT TVs. The analyst forecasts 2014 plasma and CRT shipment drops of -48% and -50% before the two technologies all but disappear by 2015.

As a result LCD TVs will wholly dominate the TV market, with the only competition coming from OLED-- a technology accounting for less than 1% of shipments through 2017.

LCD accounts for over 90% of global 2014 TV shipments.

On a geographical basis the market sees a reversal in previously established trends-- demand in emerging regions is increasingly soft as CRT TV demand falls faster than LCD growth and government subsidy programs end, while developed regions stabilise via analogue broadcast stuff and cheaper flat panel TVs.

“TV shipments worldwide have struggled for the past few years, as several unusual events have disrupted normal buying patterns,” DisplaySearch says. “Governments instituted subsidy programs to prop up local economies in the post-recession years from 2009 through 2013, and digital-to-analog broadcast transitions for many developed and emerging countries accelerated demand for TVs further at the expense of future demand.”

The analyst also hopes the 2014 World Cup 2016 Summer Olympics will stimulate a return to growth in emerging markets, while the end of CRT TV availability transitions consumer purchasing to flat panel sets.

Go NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report