[December 21, 2005] As Competition in DTV Market Increases, Prices Drop, Brand Names Become Less Important Tweet By PATRICK BARNARD TMCnet Associate Editor A report from the Ireland-based market research firm Research and Markets finds that fierce competition in the U.S. digital TV market will continue to drive down prices and make it increasingly difficult for suppliers and retailers to make a profit. In fact, the report finds that consumers care less and less about the brand name of the digital TV they buy - and more and more about features and price. The firm’s research finds that 18 percent of Internet respondents claimed to own a digital TV as of September 2005, with an additional 20 percent planning to buy one by September 2006. If this occurs, more than half of households above $75K will own a DTV, but less than a third of households below $75K will own one Private label and no-name brand products will continue to drive down prices and increase competition. The report finds that a majority of buyers are willing to save money by buying an off-brand. The industry will continue to grow, but “suppliers will struggle to maintain profitability.” “As mass merchants gain an increased share of the retail market, this will drive prices down further, particularly on entry-level products,” the report states. The report takes into consideration consumer opinions about brand in general and specific brands; attitudes toward different types of television sets; intended place of purchase and type of television desired by those planning a purchase; areas of confusion for consumers, such as the difference between DTV, EDTV, and HDTV; and reasons why a majority of consumers are waiting to buy. The report covers the sale of all digital-capable TVs including flat-panel plasma; flat-panel LCD; rear-projection TV; front-projection TV; and standard CRTs that receive or display digital images. It excludes digital tuners, signal converters, remote controls, and any other accessories sold separately. Research and Markets currently holds more than 80,000 major research publications from most of the leading publishers, consultants and analysts. The company, which calls itself a “one-stop-shop’ for market research, provides businesses with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Clients include 3M, ABB, Abbott Laboratories, ABN AMRO Bank, Accenture, Alcan, Argus Health Systems, Bain & Co., Bosch, BASF, BP, CIBC, Citibank, CNN, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly, Ernst & Young, Fox, GE, Goldman Sachs, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, JP Morgan, KPMG, Monsanto, Morgan Stanley, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Phillips, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble, Roche, SAP, Schlumberger, Siemens, Smurfit, Starbucks, The World Bank, Time Warner, UK Government, USPS and Xerox For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c29927. Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]