For as long as flat-screen TVs have existed, one rule has held: the panel is the most expensive thing inside the box. According to market research firm Omdia, as reported by DigiTimes and covered by TechRadar on October 3, 2026, that rule is breaking. Semiconductor costs have climbed so steeply in 2026 that, in some models, the chips driving the picture may now cost more than the screen showing it.
The culprit is familiar. AI data centers are swallowing memory and processors at a pace that has created a global supply shortage, and the TV industry is the latest sector to feel the squeeze.
The processing board takes over the bill of materials
Omdia’s numbers show how fast the balance has tipped. In the second quarter of 2025, the processing board accounted for just over 10% of a TV’s cost. By the third quarter of 2026, that share had reached 45% or even 50% of the total.
The individual component prices explain why:
- DRAM: basic DRAM prices hit $25 in August 2026, 4.4 times the price of a year earlier.
- NAND flash: up to $30.50, nearly nine times the previous year’s price.
- Wi-Fi modules: up from $33.90 in 2025 to $118.20.
That last figure is the most striking. A Wi-Fi module, once a minor line item, now costs more than the lowest-priced 55-inch 4K panel ($116) and sits close to the average 4K panel price of $123. A part whose only job is to get a TV online has become nearly as expensive as the display itself.
Budget sets feel it first
The impact is not evenly spread. For now, the problem is concentrated at the lower end of the market: 32-inch LCD sets and Full HD models in the low-40-inch range, rather than premium OLED TVs. The logic is simple. In a small, inexpensive TV the panel is cheap, so a sharp rise in chip prices quickly pushes the processing board to the top of the cost list. In a large OLED, the panel still dominates.
That doesn’t make big-screen buyers safe. TechRadar’s own related coverage pointed to rising LCD panel prices ahead of Black Friday and to Roku raising prices by up to 60%, which it attributed to the memory shortage. In other words, pressure is building at both ends of the bill of materials at once.
Thin margins, longer crisis
The timing is awkward for TV makers. The television business is known for relatively low profit margins, so manufacturers have little room to absorb component costs. The shortage is expected to last through 2027 and beyond, according to the report. That leaves brands with three unappealing options: raise prices, cut specs such as memory or connectivity in entry-level models, or accept even slimmer profits.
For shoppers, the takeaway is practical. The cheapest TVs are the ones whose economics are most disrupted, and they are the models most likely to see price increases or quiet hardware compromises as long as AI-driven demand keeps memory and wireless chips scarce.
