News TV SETS

After several years in a row of dropping demand, the TV market in Brazil is on the cusp of recovery. As Digitimes reports, a cyclical appearance is arising once more in the run-up to the soccer World Cup: every four years, when a World Cup takes place, demand for televisions increases considerably.


Last year, more than nine million televisions were sold in Brazil, and the DisplaySearch experts expect an increase of 68 percent for 2010. In the same period, the growth rate for flat screen televisions should increase by 51 percent. Sales figures for LCD TVs in the region will exceed those for cathode ray tube models for the first time this year in the region.

This prognosis is supported by the increased buying power and better availability of credit. End customer markets in the country, especially the consumer goods market, have improved as a result.

"The television plays an significant role as an important source of entertainment in Brazil; in terms of figures, there are more televisions than refrigerators in Brazilian households The World Cup on the one hand and the switch to flat screen televisions on the other will be expressed in 2010 in good revenue figures - an attractive investment option", says Paul Gagnon, Head of the TV market research department for North America at DisplaySearch.

Nonetheless, in the case of Brazil, there are unique obstacles to market entry which make it essential to know and understand the governing economic conditions. Brands Sony, Samsung, LG Electronics and Philips are dominant, since they already have production facilities in the country. Their factories were built because the companies benefitted from tax incentives, which on the other hand make it almost unaffordable to import televisions.

At the end of 2007, the first digital television broadcasts took place and since that time, this broadcasting method has been seen as an additional driver for flat screen TV sales. Currently, 23 percent of the population across 26 towns are able to receive digital television. Analogue television is expected to stop in 2016. In order to adhere to this schedule, the Brazilian government intends to drive the integration of digital tuners.