Industry Compass
ARD SD switch-off boosts TV and set-top box sales
Frankfurt am Main, May 20, 2025
Sales increase in the TV market: According to the latest CE industry compass Q1/2025 by ZVEI and Deutsche TV-Plattform in cooperation with NIQ, the sales figures for TV displays in the first quarter of 2025 rose by 15.4 percent to 1.2 million units compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Q1/2024: 1.04 million).
The business was fueled by replacements due to the termination of ARD’s SD distribution earlier this year. This effect also significantly boosted the sale of set-top boxes – sales here increased by 147 percent to 422,000 units (Q1/2024: 171,000).
The phasing out of old SD devices in this context led to increased demand for smaller TVs, contrary to the trend of recent years. In the group of devices with a screen diagonal of up to 50 inches, sales increased by 24.6 percent. This is also reflected in the higher share of HD TVs, which climbed by three points to 26 percent.
The digital radio standard DAB+ continues to be on the rise. In the overall radio segment – across all device categories – the DAB+ share rose to 52.4 percent (Q1/2024: 50.3 percent). It grew significantly, especially in tuners: from 44.1 to 77.4 percent. In classic radio devices (“Table top”), the DAB+ share increased to 57.0 percent in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1/2024: 54.8 percent). While hybrid devices dominate in tuners (63.2 percent), the majority of classic radio devices are pure DAB+ receivers (52 percent).
The total market considered in the CE industry compass (video and audio) increased by almost four percent to 1.48 billion euros in the first quarter of 2025. The video market rose by nine percent, while sales in the audio sector declined.
Note
The consumer electronics market considered by the CE Industry Compass includes TV sets, TV accessories, radios, headphones, speakers, as well as audio and sound systems. The radio segment considered includes radio devices (i.e., stand-alone radios), radios in audio home systems, tuners, receivers, and retrofit car radios. Radios installed in vehicles are not included.
The figures of the CE Industry Compass are based, unless another source is mentioned, on figures from the GfK Total Market. Further figures on audio and TV/video can be found in the press area of ZVEI or on our page “Industry Compass”
