The Chemical Connection: A Few Things That Still Scare Me
The Right Approach: The Top 5 Scariest Things About AI in PCB Fabrication
Punching Out: How Are the Big Boys Doing Now?
Worldwide shipments of smart TVs in the fourth quarter of 2015 reached 48.5% of all TV sets shipped in the quarter. In all, 34.2 million smart TVs were shipped in the fourth quarter, contributing to shipments breaking the 100 million mark for the first time in 2015, according to IHS Inc.,the leading global source of critical information and insight. Smart TV shipments will reach 109 million in 2016, rising to 134 million in 2020.
“Consumers increasingly regard smart functions as essential,” said Paul Gray, principal analyst, IHS Technology. “The market dynamic has shifted from seeding the market to self-sustaining demand for built-in internet streaming functions.”
More than three-quarters of televisions in China were shipped with smart functionality in 2015, while in North America the popularity of the feature surged from 36% to 48%. The popularity of Netflix and other services is reinforcing demand in North America, according to the IHS Technology TV Design and Features Tracker.
It is a mixed picture in other regions. Latin America continues to strongly increase smart TV shipments, despite a depressed television market. Penetration was diluted by basic TV sets, to subsidize Mexico’s digital switchover. Excluding such sets, more than half of TVs shipped in Latin America in the fourth quarter of 2015 included smart features. Japan and Europe appear to have reached a plateau, with small declines in 2015, largely due to the end of aggressive promotion campaigns by TV brands and a shortage of good local content.
“Smart TV will continue to grow at a more gradual rate,” Gray said. “China, the dominant engine of smart TV growth, has little extra room to grow. Other developed markets are increasingly saturated, while lack of broadband internet connections remains an issue in emerging regions.”
About IHS
IHS is the leading source of insight, analytics and expertise in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 140 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs nearly 9,000 people in 33 countries around the world.
