World Television Day 2025

November 21 is World Television Day – an occasion to take a closer look at the role of the TV set in the digitally equipped home. Right on time for this, Germany is reaching a technological milestone: After ARD already ended SD broadcasting via satellite in January, ZDF also discontinued its SD distribution on November 18, 2025.

“With yesterday’s switch-off, around 15 years of parallel broadcasting in SD and HD by the public broadcasters comes to an end – a milestone in distribution for free-to-air reception,” says Carine Chardon, Managing Director of GFU Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH. “World Television Day makes it particularly clear how much the image quality and user experience of audiovisual media have evolved in recent years.”

A look at the latest market data confirms this development: In the first three quarters of 2025, around 2.9 million TV sets were sold – a slight increase of 1.1 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. Despite falling average prices (–7.9%), the market remained stable overall, with revenue amounting to 1.86 billion euros. The price dynamics point to intense competition, while at the same time strong demand for larger, technically higher-quality devices is also evident.

The switch to HD reception required for some households as a result of the public broadcasters’ withdrawal from SD distribution was directly reflected in device sales in 2025: The set-top box segment grew significantly by 51.7 percent accordingly. The market for video reception devices also increased by 6.7 percent, driven by media boxes and streaming sticks with higher average prices.^[1]

At the same time, new display and audio technologies are increasingly establishing themselves as the standard. The share of OLED TVs was 15 percent in 2023, with an upward trend^[2], while 45 percent of all TV sets sold in the first nine months of 2025 feature surround sound systems such as Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. Around 12 percent of televisions even integrate both technologies – a significant increase compared with the previous year. At the same time, the connected television experience has long since become a lived reality: Since the fourth quarter of 2023, more than 9 million smart TVs have been sold in Germany, and 68 percent of the devices used daily are now connected to the internet.^[3]

With the complete transition to HD by public broadcasters, the technological foundation is being laid for the television experience of the coming years. For manufacturers, retailers and consumers, this opens up further potential – from immersive sound and larger display technologies to integrated streaming and smart home functions.

World Television Day underscores that the TV set remains a central element in the digital home – and is gaining even more relevance precisely through technological innovations.

[1] HEMIX Q 1-3 2025
[2] 3_2023__Anteil_der_Fernseher_mit_Surroundsound_legt_deutlich_zu/ZVEI_DTVP_Branchenkompass-CE_Q1-3-23_TV_Markt_OLED-Anteil_steigt_im_Jahresvergleich.pdf
[3] https://www.agf.de/service/pressemitteilung/agf-plattformstudie-2023-i-smart-und-connected-mehr-als-zwei-drittel-der-deutschen-tv-haushalte-verfuegen-ueber-einen-big-screen-mit-internetverbindung-die-nutzung-von-online-angeboten-der-tv-sender-steigt-weiter-an-169