Pioneer was a pioneer of flat panel plasma televisions, and the decision to close its TV business highlights both the problems of that technology, and the dire state of the wider television industry.
The television business has been hit by a slump in demand even as production capacity rose. Prices for televisions have fallen rapidly, and almost every Japanese producer – not least Sony – is losing money. Their problems are compounded by the strength of the yen. Pioneer's problems, however, are deeper than most, in part because it placed all its bets on plasma technology for making flat panel displays. In 2008, the rival liquid crystal technology (LCD) outsold plasma by about seven to one, according to data from research company DisplaySearch.
Plasma is still growing, with shipments up by 26 per cent to 15.1m last year. But as LCD grew at the expense of plasma, Pioneer's share of the global television revenues slipped from 3.4 per cent in 2005, to only 1 per cent during the first three quarters of 2008, while its share of television shipments fell to only 0.3 per cent.