European TV Market Heats up despite Economic Crisis

With the European Union’s economy showing signs of recovery, television sales in the region are expected to rise in 2009 as consumers continue to snap up LCD-TVs, according to iSuppli Corp.

“Television sales in Europe will rise to 51.97 million units in 2009, up 3.4 percent from 50.2 million in 2008,” said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli. “LCD-TVs, which will account for 79 percent of the market year, will see their sales rise by a robust 17.5 percent in 2009 to reach 41.1 million units, up from 35 million in 2008.”

However, CRT and plasma TV’s will fall 40.2 percent annually between 2008 and 2013 due to a lack of consumer interest, falling brand and retail support.

Recently, the European Union Commission said the index of business and consumer confidence in the Euro-zone increased to 69.3 in May, up from 67.2 in April, the highest level since November 2008.

Its consumer spending also has increased in all major European countries, including France and Germany. Overall, the economy has stabilized, but there remain concerns surrounding the labor market and rising unemployment rates which could counter the impact of lower inflation rates on household spending.

Meanwhile, its continuing growth are expected as demand in Eastern Europe increase for first-time and replacement buyers, declining prices, and new features of products, such as 100Hz/200Hz refresh rates, and now Light Emitting Diode (LED) backlights will increase domestic production in Europe’s LCD-TV market, isuppli said.