EL SEGUNDO, CA — Sharp Corp. in the fourth quarter was toppled from the top spot in the global LCD-TV market, falling to fourth place, down from first in the third quarter, according to a new market share ranking from iSuppli Corp.

The dramatic shake-up in LCD-TV market share is due to the rapid progress made by Sharp’s competitors and their capability to capitalize on declining prices during the holiday season.

Samsung Electronics took Sharp’s previous position at the top of the rankings with a 16.8% share of LCD-TV unit shipments in the fourth quarter, up from 13.5% in the third quarter. Second place belonged to Philips Electronics at 15.1%, while Sony  came in third with a 13.1% share of unit shipments. Sharp was fourth with 11.4% in the fourth quarter, down from 13.9% in the third quarter.

Rounding out the Top 5 was LG Electronics (7.8% share).

“This is a significant blow to Sharp, which had been the dominant LCD-TV seller going into 2006,” said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli. “While its market share had been declining, Sharp had managed to maintain a considerable distance from its competitors. However, this is no longer the case.”