Flat Screen TV Prices Falling -- Fast!

Flat-Screen TV Prices Falling
Large-screen sets can now be found for around $1,000.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (July 19, 2006) -- Flat is falling. Flat TV prices, that is.

USA Today reports that lower-than-expected demand for flat-panel sets is forcing TV makers to cut prices. For instance, some 37-inch flat-screen sets now sell for around $1,100 -- about $3,000 less than a year ago.

Rosemary Abowd at Pacific Media Associates. a research firm, says average flat-panel prices fell more than 12 percent from January to May.

Industry analysts tell the newspaper that prices will fall even further in the coming months, particularly during the holidays when discounting rises.

USA Today says TV makers overestimated consumer demand for the flat-panel sets, partially because of the 2006 World Cup. But LG Philips LCD last week warned on an inventory glut.

"Growth isn't falling off the face of the Earth, it's just not as explosive as some people thought," Abowd told USA Today.

Swanni Sez:
I predicted last December that you would see large, flat-screen HDTVs hit the magic $1,000 price point during the 2006 holidays. The USA Today article -- and Best Buy's announcement that it will sell a 42-inch Plasma HDTV next month for $1,500 -- suggests that my prediction is on track.

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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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