Positive growth returned to India's liquid crystal display (LCD) TV market in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015, after the industry posted declines in the second quarter (Q2) and no growth in the third quarter (Q3). With more Indians transitioning from cathode-ray tube (CRT) TVs to LCD, the overall consumer LCD TV market in India grew 18 percent in Q4 2015 to reach 2.6 million units, according to IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight.
Other emerging nations did not fare as well as India in Q4 last year, based on the latest information from the IHS TV Sets Intelligence Service. Ukraine's LCD TV market fell by two thirds (66 percent) in Q4 2015, and Russia's market dropped by half (48 percent). Brazil did not decline as precipitously, but still posted an 18 percent decline.
“Compared to other emerging nations, India is still early in the process of transitioning from CRT to LCD, so there is a lot of room left for market growth,” said Hisakazu Torii, senior director of consumer device research for IHS Technology. “While India is not immune from currency devaluations, the country also has a stronger demand base than others.”
While unit sales are on the rise, India posted a smaller average screen size of 31.7 inches, because the average size of homes in India tends to be smaller than other countries and households are upgrading from very small 20-inch-class CRT TVs. By way of comparison, China and the United States boast the largest average screen size of 44 inches and 43 inches, respectively, for TVs shipped in the fourth quarter of 2015.
