While plenty of things have gotten more expensive over the years, TVs are not one of them– why does a mid-range TV cost roughly the same now as it did in 2005?
Buying a new TV used to be a mini life event. It meant multiple trips to the electronics store, plenty of negotiations, and a whole lot of credit card anxiety — because these things were pricey. In 2005, a 40-inch Sony LCD would set you back around $4,000. These days, you can score a 55-inch 4K flat screen for under $500. No fanfare, no financing plan.
And the real twist is, TVs are one of the only things getting cheaper. At a time when the price of eggs, rent, and even children’s toys have skyrocketed, TVs have done the opposite. According to the American Enterprise Institute, TV prices have dropped 97% since the year 2000, which is more than any other product on the market.
So what gives? How did TVs go from being a luxury item to an affordable staple in every home?
To answer that, we’ll need to take a look at the evolution of TV technology and unpack the key shifts — technological, economic, and strategic — that have made modern TVs shockingly budget-friendly. Here’s how it all started, what changed, and why a 60-inch 4K screen is now cheaper than your last night out.The tech got better
Before TVs were featherlight wall fixtures, they were chunky cubes powered by cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology. And CRTs weren’t just bulky — they were also really complex. They worked by firing electron beams onto a phosphor-coated screen, which required thick glass, heavy metals, and precision engineering. That meant limited screen sizes (rarely over 40 inches), high production costs, and major shipping headaches. If you wanted something bigger, your only option was a short-lived tech called rear projection — but that’s a story for another day. Then flat-panel displays came along, and everything changed.
In the early 2000s, LCD and plasma screens began to replace CRTs (although these retro TVs are now making a comeback). They didn’t need a giant vacuum tube to function, and instead used liquid crystals or gas cells sandwiched between thin panes of glass to create images, drastically cutting down on size and weight. No tubes, no bloated backs, no need for deep cabinets to house the tech. And this core process has stayed the same even as TV tech evolved — from edge-lit LED to ultra-thin OLED.
