German smart TV sales up 14%

Despite the economic toll of the Covid-19 pandemic, the German smart TV market has been described as ‘very stable’ by a new report which sees solid growth.

According to GfK Retail & Technology, approximately 4.1 million smart TV sets were sold in the European country during the first nine months. This translates to a growth of almost 14% year-over-year for the first three quarters of the year.

The overall market, the report says, is 88% made up of smart displays which is up 5% from 2019, and indicates that German homes are becoming increasingly connected. More than 44 million CTVs have been sold in Germany since 2012. More than 90% of TVs sold since 2012 support the HbbTV standard.

Unsurprisingly with the technology becoming cheaper and more accessible, bigger screens are increasingly becoming the norm for German households. Just under 220,000 of TVs sold during Q1-Q3 were bigger than 65 inches – up 18% over the entirety of 2019.

Smart set-top-box growth has also been positive, with 280,000 receivers sold compared to 135,000 by this point last year. This is likely due to a number of promotions run during the year, including converged offers from Vodafone following its buy up of Liberty Global’s German assets.

Carine Chardon, managing director of Deutsche TV-Plattform –  the non-profit association that introduces, disseminates and further develops digital Television in Germany – said: “Smart TV offers the full range of moving picture services from classic linear TV to the popular streaming apps and numerous niche offers. Especially on the large screens, which are in great demand, it is especially fun to watch films and series, whether with the whole family or alone on the couch. The high picture quality and the increasingly personalisable surfaces round off the user experience and make television attractive – even for younger viewers.”