The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has released figures showing a spike in DTV product sales at consumer electronics retailers coinciding with Super Bowl XXXIX.
According to CEA figures, December 2004 factory-to-dealer sales of DTV products hit 927,000 units, marking a 45 percent increase over December 2003. Total DTV sales for 2004 reached 7.2 million units, an increase of 75 percent compared to year-end 2003.
With November 2004 holiday sales of 844,000 units, the 10 percent increase in December sales demonstrates that retailers know that an upgrade to a high-definition television was a priority to consumers before this year's Super Bowl, said CEA Director of Market Research Sean Wargo.
Since the first products hit the market in late 1998, 16.1 million DTVs have shipped bringing more than $25 billion in factory revenues. One of the biggest drivers of DTV is flat panel displays, which accounted for 38 percent of the year-end DTV unit totals and reached 2.7 million units shipped in 2004.
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