Nearly Half of US Homes Will Own 4K TV by 2020, Says Strategy Analytics Forecast Report

Nearly half of U.S. homes will own a 4K TV by 2020, and U.S. penetration will reach 10 percent in 2016, from just 1 percent in 2014, Strategy Analytics said Monday in a global market forecast report. The report sees the U.S. emerging as the leading market for 4K TVs by 2020 in terms of household penetration, followed by the leading Western European markets, Australia, South Korea and China. Demand for 4K TVs is soaring worldwide “as entry level price points drop well below $1,000, model availability expands and consumers seek out the next best technology as they upgrade their aging flat panel TVs,” said the research firm. Other 4K TV findings: (1) Global shipments grew 633 percent in 2014 from a year earlier to reach 12.1 million units, with Asia Pacific accounting for 75 percent, followed by North America (12 percent) and Western Europe (11 percent). (2) Global shipments will more than double in 2015 to 27.5 million units and by 2018, annual shipments will nearly quadruple to 100 million. (3) Six of every 10 4K TV sets shipped globally in 2014 were 50 inches or larger, and a quarter of all 50-inch and larger TVs that shipped were 4K models. (4) Sub-50-inch 4K TVs will become more widely available in 2015 and the category will be the majority of 4K TV shipments globally by the end of 2016. (5) Wide color gamut and high dynamic range “support” will be built into “premium” 4K TV models this year, “creating a more discernable price tier structure in the market.” Ultra HD “will become the standard resolution for virtually all large-screen TVs within 3-4 years' time and we will see it penetrate further into smaller screen sizes as manufacturing efficiencies improve,” said David Watkins, Strategy Analytics service director-connected home devices. “As we saw with the transition from SD to HD, it is the TV manufacturers who are leading the Ultra HD charge although significant steps are being made on the delivery infrastructure and content production parts of the value chain. As the inevitable price competition eats into the ability of the TV vendors to make any meaningful profit from selling Ultra HD TVs, many brands are adding support for wider color gamuts and high dynamic range in order to differentiate their models and charge a premium over ‘standard' Ultra HD models."