German video market remains stable

Joint press release from Deutsche TV-Plattform and ZVEI: CE Industry Compass Q3/2024: Video market remains stable

Stable video market: According to the current CE-Branchenkompass Q3/2024 from ZVEI and Deutsche TV-Plattform, in cooperation with GfK, sales of TV sets in the first three quarters of 2024 (2.94 million) remained almost the same as in the same period last year (2.92 million). After a weak first quarter and a good second quarter, which was boosted by the European Football Championship and the Olympic Games, sales in the third quarter of 2024 were at the same level as in the same period last year. As a result, sales in the video sector remained stable overall in the first nine months of 2024 at around 2.1 billion euros.

There are also hardly any changes in terms of features: As in the previous year, 85 percent of the TV sets sold were LCD TVs, the remaining 15 percent were OLED technology. More than three quarters (78%) of the screens sold were UHD TVs, 27 percent of which have all common HDR processes integrated – an increase of two percentage points compared to the first three quarters of 2023. Large displays also recorded a slight increase. The trend towards larger screen diagonals continues: 24 percent of the TVs sold were 55-inch models, and a further 17 percent have a screen diagonal of 65 inches (165 cm).

What is striking is that TV sets are increasingly being used to play online audio formats. The Audio Trends 2024 of the state media authorities show that smart TVs are now the second most commonly used device for playing web radio and online audio offerings after smartphones. The audio trends also reveal an increasing use of DAB+ in Germany: 35 percent of households now have access to DAB+, and around 20.5 million people listen to the radio via it. At the same time, the share of DAB+ radios in sales is also increasing: Of the radio sets sold in the first three quarters of 2024, 51 percent have DAB+, which is five percentage points more than in the same period last year.

In the audio segment, headphones are particularly popular with consumers. They have topped the sales charts for years. On average, around 17.3 million headphones were sold in each of the last five years, both in-ear and over-ear devices in almost all facets. Accordingly, in the first three quarters of 2024, the share of headphones in audio device sales was almost two-thirds (63%).

All in all, however, the audio market is declining. Overall, sales in the market considered in the CE Industry Compass fell to around 3.9 billion euros in the period from January to September 2024 (2023: 4.1 billion euros).

Note: The consumer electronics market considered by the CE industry compass includes TV sets, TV accessories, radios, headphones, loudspeakers, and audio and sound systems. The radio segment considered includes radio sets (ie stand-alone radios), radios in audio home systems, tuners, receivers, and car radios for retrofitting. Radios installed in motor vehicles are not included.

Unless another source is mentioned, the figures in the CE industry compass are based on figures from GfK Totalmarkt.