U.S. Accounts for Just 8 Percent of Worldwide Demand for UHD TV Sets, According to New Report
Demand for 4K UHD television sets is strong, with worldwide shipments growing to 11.6 million units in 2014, a 700 percent increase over the previous year, according to a new report from Futuresource Consulting. But none of that growth is in the U.S., where shipments remained flat year over year.
Instead, China is driving demand for UHD TVs, the firm said, accounting for more than 70 percent of worldwide demand. Western Europe is a distant second, with 10 percent of worldwide demand, followed by North America's 8 percent share.
The firm expects demand for UHDTV to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 72 percent through 2018, when more than 100 million shipments are projected. At that point, the firm said, UHD will represent 38 percent of the total TV market.
"An indication that 4K is quickly becoming mainstream was the availability of many sets at discounted prices during last month's Black Friday," said Futuresource Research Analyst David Tett in a prepared statement. "There is some concern amongst the content community that owners of such sets will be disappointed when they do eventually receive a regular native 4K source, perhaps unable to perceive the improvement that they had hoped for versus 1080p."
The figures are included in Futuresource's Worldwide TV Market Report, a 27-page report available for purchase from the company's website.
