Super Bowl XLIII was expected to drive the purchase of some 2.6 million HDTVs, making the game the leading impetus for consumers to buy an HDTV for the fourth year in a row, according to Consumer Electronics Association figures released prior to the game.
According to the association, in 2009, a total of 29.8 million out of the more than 34.5 million DTVs expected to be sold in the United States are forecast to be HD. That’s 3 million more HDTVs than were sold in 2008, CEA said.
Contributing to increased HDTV sales is a drop in the average wholesale price of sets. In the past five years, that price has fallen nearly 50 percent to $849 this year, the association said.
All categories of DTV sales are on the rise. CEA projects that more than 34.5 million DTVs will ship in 2009. Plasma displays will account for 10 percent of total sets sold in 2009. Overall digital displays remain the primary revenue driver for the industry with dollar shipments representing 15 percent of total industry sales in 2009.
