Surprising Science — December 27, 2011

Future of TV Sets: It’s all about Content

The era of making big bucks from TV sets has gone. They are now so cheap that the profits have all but been eroded, partly due to oversupply caused by increased manufacturing.

bigthinkeditor

What’s the Latest Development?

TV sets have become so cheap that profit margins have largely been eroded, partly due to a huge rise in manufacturing capacity that caused oversupply and continued downward price pressure from low-cost manufacturers and online retailers. The slump is a hangover of sorts for an industry that binged on years of double-digit growth, as consumers upgraded to flashnew screens.

What’s the Big Idea?

The future of TVs appears to be more about what content they can provide, such as Netflix and iTunes, than new hardware features like flat screens or 3-D technology. It doesn’t help that consumers are reluctant to pay much more for the latest features, such as Internet connectivity. Instead, they are likely to wait patiently for a few months until the price falls.

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