Digital TV semiconductor market dips in 2012

According to a report of information and analytics provider IHS, the global market for digital television semiconductors (DTV) declined by nearly 6% in 2012. Total DTV semiconductor revenues fell to US$14.09 billion in 2012, down from US$14.91 billion in 2011. While revenues for chips used on TV motherboards actually rose during the year, revenues sagged in three other DTV segments: power management, LED backlighting and flat-panel TV driver ICs. Better prospects are in store in 2013 when revenues rebound to US$14.35 billion. Much of the cause for the decline in DTV semiconductor revenue last year was tied to a conspicuous deceleration of the worldwide TV market, with demand slowing in the West, and a steep drop-off in Japan," said Brian O'Rourke, senior principal analyst for display electronics at IHS. "Overall TV production decreased last year in the face of a soft global economy. Individual regions including Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, China, Japan, and the Middle East-Africa all experienced reductions in the number of TVs they manufactured." 

In the TV video processor segment of the DTV market, Taiwan-based chip suppliers MStar Semiconductor and MediaTek continued to dominate, accounting for about two-thirds of all TV video processor revenue during the first three quarters of 2012, IHS said. A proposed merger of the two players, likely to be finalized in the first half of 2013, will create an even more formidable presence in the DTV semiconductor market, resulting in a single giant entity that would further ensure the primacy of Taiwan.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/technology-news/item/1907-digital-tv-semiconductor-market-dips-in-2012.html