LOS ANGELES — Worldwide TV shipments fell last year for the first time since at least 2004, slipping 0.3 percent to 247.7 million units.

Market research firm NPD DisplaySearch said Wednesday that LCD TV shipments rose by 7 percent to slightly more than 205 million units, a “substantial slowdown” from the double-digit growth in previous years.

Plasma TV shipments declined almost 7 percent to 17.2 million units, the largest decrease yet, and cathode ray tube, or CRT, TVs fell 34 percent, the firm said.

“The causes of slow demand in 2011 were complex, and although LCD TV showed growth, results were well below industry expectations,” said Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV research for DisplaySearch.

Gagnon said the low shipment levels were caused in part by excessive inventory early in the year for the U.S. and Europe and a sharp drop in demand in Japan after the end of the government-sponsored Eco-Points program.