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SAN FRANCISCO - Samsung Electronics kept its position as the world's leading maker of televisions in the second quarter thanks to its strength in LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, says research firm iSuppli.
Samsung had 12.4 per cent of the global TV market in the April-June quarter, according to iSuppli, followed by fellow Korean manufacturer LG Electronics with 11.4 per cent and Dutch group Philips with 7.1 per cent.
Japan's Sanyo Electric took fourth place with 6.3 per cent, and China's TCL, once the world's biggest manufacturer of TVs, fell to fifth from third with 5.6 per cent as the New Year shopping season in China ended.
ISuppli forecast that traditional curved-screen, cathode-ray-tube televisions would account for only 38 per cent of unit shipments in 2009, down from 56 per cent this year, as flat-screen LCD and plasma TVs gain in popularity.
"The most significant television market development during the coming years will be the loss of dominance by cathode ray tube televisions globally," iSuppli's main TV analyst, Riddhi Patel, said in a statement.
ISuppli predicted that the overall television market would grow at a compound annual rate of 4 per cent between 2007 and 2011 for unit shipments, and 5 per cent in terms of revenue.
In 2011, 245.5 million TVs will be sold, according to iSuppli, up from 207.5 million this year.
- REUTERS