02.19.2008 — Sales of HDTV flat panels grew 27 percent in December, with plasmas losing ground to LCDs, according to research from Pacific Media Associates.

The “Consumer Flat Panel Display Sell-Through Tracking Service” found that average street price dropped 1 percent from November, even though 17 of the 20 best selling models fell by 10 percent or more. LCDs became more than half of the 50-inch to 54-inch market, with plasmas falling to 17 percent.

“One important development in December was that plasma models continued to lose ground to LCD,” says Rosemary Abowd, Pacific Media VP. “We have not seen the impact of the new, larger capacity LCD plants that will start to come online later in 2008, which should only increase LCD’s competitive position in the larger sizes.”

Samsung held seven of the 10 best-selling models, with the 46-inch LNT4661F 1080p LCD taking the top spot.

On the professional side, flat panel TV and business display sales were up four percent in December from November, with plasmas leading the way.

Pacific Media’s “Professional Flat Panel Display Sell-Through Tracking Service” found that Panasonic’s TH-42PH10UK was the best-selling model for the month.