After a 2% decline in 2015, worldwide TV shipments are showing signs of a turnaround, with Ultra HD sets ready to take off, according to a report from Futuresource Consulting.

Currently, smart TVs are on target to account for 59% of total shipments in 2016, but Futuresource regards its traction as remaining weak in some markets due to entrenched alternatives like pay-TV or slow Internet speeds. That said, Futuresource expects smart TV-capability will be shipped in three out of every four sets by 2020.
Eagerly-awaited but still hugely expensive OLED TVs are still emerging from their niche, with Futuresource observing an increase in the number of vendors producing TV sets with OLED panels. The analyst believes that OLED shipments will reach nearly a million units in 2016. Even though this accounts for less than 0.5% of total market volumes, Futuresource calculated that this figure still represents 3% in value terms, due to the premium positioning and associated pricing.
“Although we’ve seen the overall global picture stabilise this year, there have still been some major events at a country level, with France likely to see 20% growth whilst Mexico and Brazil are both forecast to suffer declines of over 10%,” said Jack Wetherill, senior market analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “Our research generates market data for 25 different countries and we’re seeing signs that demand in China will grow by at least 5% this year, with the country accounting for one out of every five TV shipments on the planet. India and other countries within Asia Pac are also making a positive impact on the worldwide figures.”