TV sales hit new low in 2019

In a possible indication of the impact of the rise of smartphones and OTT content, TV sales in India witnessed their worst ever performance in 2019. Sales declined by 4% YoY during the year, making it the first year when sales actually saw a drop in volume terms.  Industry executives admit that with the rise of smartphones and OTT platforms like Amazon, Netflix and Hotstar, people in urban and semi-urban areas have been postponing their TV purchases. In rural India on the other hand, poor sentiments drove the poor performance in sales. This could impact plans of MeitY, which is planning to make India a production hub for TVs. However, domestic volumes may not justify the same.