Business News Holding

Tag: tv-market

  • Apple Rumored to Acquire German TV Maker Loewe

    Loewe, a luxury German TV brand, saw stock prices soar after a trader claimed that Apple was in the market to bid 4 euros a share for the company.

    The rumor set off a chain reaction, causing stock prices to go as high as 3.93, an increase of 44.5 percent from February 12th's closing 2.72 closing price. The price fluctuated throughout the day and eventually closed out at 3.35 on February 13th, an increase of 23.6 percent in just a day.

    Rumors of Apple's interest in the company have been around since May of 2012. Despite reports on AppleInside, Loewe refuted the rumors and Apple never commented on it. With Loewe's capitalization reaching nearly $58 million, a buyout could be a smart move for Apple. However, the company would also have to persuade Loewe's executives and Sharp, a major shareholder.

    The buyout would be a way out of the difficult TV market that Loewe has found itself in. The company experienced a loss of $39 million in 2012 and is now attempting to cut 1,000 jobs to lower expenses. In an effort to expand its market, Loewe has also branched out into manufacturing Blu-ray Player, multiroom systems, speakers, racks and DVD recorders.

    But rumors are just that, rumors and we have yet to see if anything will come of all the speculation. But who knows, maybe Apple is in the market to purchase Loewe and expand into the TV market. We will just have to wait and see if all the hype that increased stock prices is just talk or fact.

  • China TV Market to Enjoy Solid Growth in 2014

    The China television market, already a dominant force on the world stage, is expected to perform strongly once again in 2010, led by an overall rise in the production of television sets as well as surging demand for LCD-TVs, according to iSuppli.

    As the world’s top TV manufacturer, China will produce an estimated 95.5 million TV sets in 2010, up 11.3 percent from 85.8 million in 2009 when the country accounted for 42 percent of total global TV shipments. This year’s anticipated rise is also a bigger increase than the 5.3 percent gain made during the 2008-2009 period, iSuppli figures show.

    LCD-TV shipments alone this year will increase 40 percent to 80 million—or nearly 84 percent of overall China TV shipments—far outpacing the 13.6 million CRT-TVs and 1.9 million plasma sets to be produced in 2010.

    By 2014, iSuppli forecasts that TV production in China will rise to 128.1 million units, translating into a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 7.6 percent for the forecast period.

    LCD-TVs Take Center Stage
    The strength in China’s TV manufacturing can be attributed to the brisk expansion of LCD-TV production capacity as well as to the growing demand from both the domestic and export markets. In particular, Chinese LCD firms are investing billions of dollars in set-production lines, panel fabs and component factories, becoming more competitive with the global brands in the overall LCD-TV arena.

    Of the total China LCD market in 2009, local Chinese OEMs accounted for three-quarters market share, beating out their foreign-based counterparts that had pulled back on marketing in the country because of the global economic crisis. Chinese OEMs were also helped by their deep penetration in the rural market, along with support from the government’s subsidy program offering rebates to consumers who buy TVs and other consumer goods.

    In addition to the encouraging factors above, China’s LCD-TV market will receive a boost from consumer interest in new flat-panel TV features, such as higher 120/240Hz refresh rates, LED backlighting and Internet-ready capabilities, further cementing the dominance of LCD technology in the world’s most populous country, iSuppli projections show.

  • GE Delays Launch of HDTVs


    General Electric is to delay its re-entry into the television market after a 20-year gap as a result of "marketing issues".

    The company announced in September that it was to offer GE-branded HDTVs in partnership with a Taiwanese company.

    Now it has emerged that the company is pushing everything back by around three months, according to Engadget.

    It reports that the setback isn’t due to "operational or manufacturing issues", but suggests it may have more to do with a desire to better implement connected HDTV features.

    Whatever the reason, GE hasn’t picked the time to be re-entering the market – and its pre-launch jitters certainly don’t inspire great hope in the as-yet unseen product.