The Price Of TVs Has Fallen Over The Decades, But At A Cost: Your Privacy
In March 1973, electronics manufacturer RCA Corporation promoted its “new low-price color television” in the New York Times. The cost was $379.95 for a 15-inch model, the equivalent of a splurge of $2,694.32 in today’s dollars.
These days, in an era of above-average inflation, it may seem like everything from food to new cars has become more expensive. But one living room staple managed to defy rising prices and even became less expensive over time: the television. Today, you can get a 32-inch TV (more than twice the size of a 1973 RCA TV) for less than $100.
But did TV manufacturers lower prices out of the goodness of their hearts? Hardly.
Several factors contributed to the cheaper televisions, some of them related to manufacturing and others more related to marketing. There is greater competition, a more efficient production process and the proven attractive power of agreements. At brick-and-mortar stores like Best Buy and Target, and online retailers like Amazon, some 55-inch TVs sell for less than $250, full price.
But perhaps most importantly, there’s a lucrative new revenue stream for TV makers: selling information about you. Today, most TV manufacturers are data brokers, profiting from the information they collect from their Internet-connected customers.
Faster flat screens
The uses of televisions changed and so did their appearance. What for decades was a bulky piece of furniture, sometimes inlaid with carved wood, is now a thin, glossy black panel that can be placed in your shopping cart and hung on the wall. Over time, TV makers figured out how to cut costs by punching multiple screens from a larger sheet of mother glass rather than producing each screen individually, said Paul Gagnon, consumer technology industry adviser at Circana, a company market research.
New players enter the market
Another factor that drives prices down: increased competition. In recent years, new companies have entered the U.S. market with relatively low-cost offerings, increasing competition for traditional TV makers. Two of the most popular recent additions are Chinese companies: TCL began selling TVs in the United States in 2014 and Hisense entered the market in 2015.
High-end TV features
Not all televisions are very cheap. Some still offer expensive add-ons that aren’t usually included on discounted models. Most televisions offer some variation of LED technology and use light-emitting diodes to illuminate the screens. But the TVs with the highest picture quality, known as OLED TVs, can still sell for thousands of dollars.
Who watches who?
Over the past decade, the television industry has undergone a major shift: A growing number of Americans no longer rely on traditional cable packages. Instead, they get their entertainment from a crowded field of streaming services, such as Netflix, Max and Disney+. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a TV without the ability to easily access streaming content. These modern Internet-connected televisions are called “smart TVs.”
But these smart TVs also pose a threat to privacy. Smart TVs collect tons of information, including customer viewing habits, location, and potentially more personal data, which could be concerning if not managed properly.
This new business model changes the calculus for television manufacturers. The pressure for more data may also incentivize TV producers to lower prices by collecting more information about customers.
Not everyone is happy with the idea that their new flat screen TV can collect intimate personal information, and the monetization of personal information is an issue that should concern us all.