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It was a combination of small market and RCA stranglehold on patents. RCA was traken to court for requiring other manufacturers to buy a full bundle of patents, while the others wanted to develop their own circuits and pay ony for the essential system patents. RCA was eventually forced to unbundle. If the market had really taken off (which would have required much lower prices), then everyone may have agreed to pay the RCA royalties. As it turned out, the prices of color sets stayed almost constant in dollar number, but decreased in real terms as inflation gradually raised the cost of basics and the salaries that people earned. The turnover in color growth was about 1965, and by then the patent dispute had been settled and other manufacturers were back in the market. 1964 or so was when the first 21-inch sets were advertised for under $500. The '65 models also included the first rectangular sets. These temporarily kept the console pricing up, but smaller rectangular "portables" and table models were introduced at lower prices and the flood gates opened.
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