I actually predicted this back around Thanksgiving and talked my father into not waiting until spring to buy the TV he wanted.
My take on it, which may be wrong, is that they expect some people will "have" to buy a new TV to get what they want after the digital change over and will pay for it even if it is a bit higher than it was. [emphasis added] Now it could be all about the economy and I was right for the wrong reasons, but I was still right.
I think you are right.
In my case, seeing deals in the newspaper gets me to
expect low prices, and I refuse to pay more than the advertised sale prices. So, I would not buy anything with them raising the prices above those prices.
But, I am not the target audience anyway, as I bought an HDTV just over a year ago, and I am not planning on upgrading for several years. Perhaps in 2020 I will be a new one, even if my current one is still going strong. But I am unlikely to buy a new TV before then, unless my current one dies, and then I would likely not buy the same brand. A well made TV that is not abused should easily last that long.