Plasma TV shipments reached a record high of 1.13 million units in the second quarter of 2005, up 24 percent over the same quarter in 2004 and 89 percent year over year, according to DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report.
Plasma TVs gained share in all regions and overtook rear projection TVs (RPTVs) for the first time in China and ROW on a unit basis. As a result, plasma TVs overtook RPTVs worldwide with a 2.9 percent unit share, up from 2.0 percent in the first quarter. Conversely, the RPTV market fell from 2.9 percent in the first quarter to 2.5 percent in the second on a 27 percent quarter-over-quarter basis and 17 percent year-over-year decline. Plasma TVs now lead RPTVs in all regions except North America where the penetration of 50in and larger TVs remains higher than the rest of the world favoring lower priced RPTVs.
Panasonic drove the plasma TV market in the second quarter of 2005 with shipments rising 90 percent, enabling its global market share to surge from 17 percent to 27 percent.
It remained No. 1 in Japan, North America and Europe gaining share in each region. It held particularly dominant shares in Japan and North America at 66 percent and 33 percent, respectively. LGE, Samsung and Philips maintained their hold on second, third and fourth place with Hitachi overtaking Pioneer for the No. 5 position and Sony remaining at No. 6.
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