VIZIO still leading U.S. LCD-TV market

August 17, 2009
By Dylan McGrath
Video/Imaging Design Line

SAN FRANCISCO—Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. closed the gap significantly with leader Vizio Inc. in the U.S. LCD-TV market in the second quarter, but Vizio retained market leadership with 21.7 percent market share, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.

Samsung's share of U.S. LCD-TV unit shipments rose to 21.3 percent in the second quarter, up 3.5 points from 17.8 percent in the second quarter, iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.) said. The gain represented the largest increase of any LCD-TV brand in the U.S. in the second quarter, the firm said.

"Samsung in the second quarter was very aggressive in introducing and marketing its LED-backlit LCD-TVs, allowing it to boost sales of these sets," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst of television systems for iSuppli, in a statement.

Global penetration of the LED-backlight technology for LCD-TV panels will increase to 37 percent of all shipments in 2013, up from 3 percent in 2009, according to iSuppli's latest forecast. Patel said about 2.2 percent of LCD-TVs in the U.S. in the second quarter used LED backlights, up from zero during the same quarter a year earlier.

"In mature markets like the United States, while many consumers are moving up from their CRT or rear-projection televisions, an increasing number of LCD-TV purchases are replacements of first-generation flat-panel sets," Patel said. "In these cases, consumers are gravitating toward higher-specification televisions, such as those with LED backlights."

Sony was the third-ranked supplier of LCD-TVs in the U.S. in the second quarter, holding 11.9 percent of the market, according to iSuppli. Toshiba ranked fourth with a 7.9 percent share, according to the firm.

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