Based on new numbers released this week from the Consumer Electronics Association, November/December 2005 factory-to-dealer sales of DTV products hit 2.3 million, marking a 35 percent increase over the same two-month sales frame in 2004.
The CEA said DTV sales in November were the highest for the calendar year (which is typical). The lobby group directly attributes the climb to consumer electronics retailers having stocked their shelves in preparation for holiday and Super Bowl purchases. (Also, the 17-day winter Olympics starting on Feb. 10 will follow the NFL championship by less than a week.)
Overall, the CEA said total DTV sales for 2005 reached more than 12 million units and $17 billion in revenue; HD products comprised 85 percent of those total sales ($14.45 billion).
A recent survey ("Inside the Mind of the HD Sports Fan") conducted by CEA reinforces conventional wisdom that sports enthusiasts are driving the sale of HD units in America. Nearly 50 percent of HD owners in the survey cited HD sports programming as the primary force behind their HD purchases. (And 78 percent said the Super Bowl was their favorite sport to watch in HD.)
CEA forecasts that HD will outsell analog sets in the U.S. by nearly 90 percent in 2006 -- pinpointing Super Bowl XL, Olympics XX and the World Cup in Germany as primary drivers.
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