Massive 97-inch TVs have never been more popular – here’s why
The market for so-called XXL TVs has exploded in 2024 –and it’s not just down to price.
The market for TVs over 97-inches has grown by nearly 900%Slightly more modest TVs are selling well in 2024 tooThe growth is driven by plummeting prices and post-pandemic upgrades
The market for huge TVs over 97 inches in size has grown bigger than the bill for our Black Friday impulse buys. It’s increased by a whopping 877% in just one year, according to a new report, compared to a slightly less stratospheric 19% for TVs larger than 75 inches.
The eye-opening stats from market research firm Cicana, reported by CNN, confirm that there’s one key reason for the rocket-powered growth: big TVs are finally getting much cheaper.
As the report states, those big TVs are 53% cheaper than they were this time last year. Hence the fast growth: the slower growth of the 75-to-96-inch market is likely due to much smaller price drops of a relatively titchy 6%.
In other words, people who previously wanted a really big TV couldn’t afford them. And now, increasingly, they can – but the market isn’t getting more affordable across the board.
Why are big TVs getting cheaper?
LG showed off a 97-inch OLED TV (the 97G2, above) in 2022, but the growth in TVs of that size has been largely generated by VA LCD panels. (Image credit: LG)
As ever with the TV market, some tech is cheaper than other tech. In big TVs, that tech is LCD: most of the names in big TVs offer models with relatively affordable VA LCD panels, which have come down in price even at the very largest sizes.
Price drops have been slower with more complex tech, which is why the very largest OLED TVs and micro-LED TVs are still much more expensive than their VA LCD siblings. That’s likely to remain the case for a while yet.
There’s another reason for the market growth: Cicada reckons that many people are buying big TVs to replace the TVs they bought during the Covid pandemic.
According to vice-president of consumer tech at Circana, Paul Gagnon, “The strong growth trend for ultra-large TVs aligns with the increase in 65-inch TV sales from 2018 to 2020, which consumers are now starting to replace five to six years later, in line with what our research suggests is the most common replacement interval.”
That’s a trend the firm expects to see continuing into 2025 and beyond. Put another way, your long-held wish to buy a truly enormous TV has been officially granted.
You might also like
Is 97 inches too big? Here are the best 85-inch TVsEnjoy big-screen bliss with the best 75-inch TVsThese are the best OLED TVs of any size