For the first quarter of 2009, MediaTek Inc. was the top player in the sector, followed in order by MStar, Samsung, Broadcom and Zoran, according to the firm.

Broadcom jumped from sixth to fourth place in the rankings. Last year, Broadcom completed the acquisition of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s digital TV (DTV) chip business for $141.5 million, about $51 million less than the two companies originally agreed upon.

DisplaySearch's research also indicates that the TV IC shipments declined seasonally to 30.8 million units for flat panel TVs in the first quarter. Shipments were down by 4.3 percent quarter-over-quarter, but up 11 percent from a year ago.

''This is in line with seasonal trends and with the maturing of the flat panel TV market as developed markets have completed the switch from CRT TVs,'' according to the firm. ''DisplaySearch's results also indicate that continued industry consolidation has resulted in an increased share for top-tier IC vendors.''