The duopoly between South Korea and China is becoming increasingly entrenched in the global TV market. Chinese manufacturers like TCL and Hisense have outmaneuvered Japanese firms such as Sony to secure the second position. Meanwhile, South Korean firms like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are expected to maintain their leadership in the premium market for the foreseeable future.
Japanese TV manufacturers, including Sony, are losing their market share. They struggle against Chinese rivals in the budget market and fail to keep pace with South Korean companies in the premium market.
Samsung and LG maintain market dominance despite Chinese influx
According to Omdia on Wednesday, Samsung Electronics captured a 28.3% share of the global TV market by revenue in 2024, marking its 19th consecutive year at the top since 2006.
LG Electronics secured second place with a 16.1% share, while Chinese firms TCL and Hisense stood at 12.4% and 10.5%, respectively. Sony lagged with just 5.4%.
An analysis of the past five years reveals that Sony’s decline and the rise of Chinese manufacturers are noticeable, while Samsung and LG’s continued their leadership.
In 2020, Sony held the third position with a 9.1% market share, following Samsung Electronics (31.9%) and LG Electronics (16.5%). However, TCL (7.4%) and Hisense (6.1%) increased their market share, pushing Sony to fifth place last year. During the same period, Samsung Electronics’ share fell by 3.6%, while LG Electronics maintained its share.
In terms of shipment volume, the progress of Chinese companies is even more noticeable. In 2020, Samsung Electronics stood at 21.9 %, LG Electronics at 11.5%, TCL at 10.7%, Hisense at 8.1 %, and Xiaomi at 5.6%. In 2024, Samsung Electronics stood at 17.6%, TCL at 13.9%, Hisense at 12.3%, LG Electronics at 10.8%, and Xiaomi at 5.1%. Samsung Electronics ranked first with a 10.4% gap with second-ranked LG Electronics in 2020, but TCL trailed by 3.7% last year.
Samsung and LG focus on premium market, leaving Sony behind
Chinese TV manufacturers’ primary advantage is their competitive pricing. Rather than engage in a price war, Samsung and LG have opted to focus on profitability through premium products like OLED displays. Unlike LCDs, OLEDs use self-illuminating organic materials instead of backlights, which makes them more expensive. However, they offer benefits such as lower power consumption, superior contrast ratios, and more vibrant color displays.
In the premium market above $2,500, Samsung and LG have strengthened their positions. Their market shares rose from 45.4% and 21.3% in 2020 to 49.6% and 30.2% in 2024, respectively. TCL (1.6%) and Hisense (0.9%) maintain only a minimal presence in the premium market.
Sony is lagging as South Korean companies increase their dominance in the premium market. Sony’s share in the premium market plummeted from 22.4% in 2020 to 15.2% in 2024, mainly due to Samsung’s entry into the OLED market in 2022.
In the OELD TV market, where LG Electronics had dominated for 12 consecutive years until last year, Sony ranked second in 2022 with a 25.9% share. However, as Samsung Electronics entered the OELD market that year with a 6.1% market share and increased it to 27.3% last year, Sony’s market share fell to 12.8%.
Content is key to future TV business as companies leverage software for profitability
As the TV market becomes more competitive, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics seek a way out of content-based businesses. They are leveraging their smart TV operating systems (OS). Both companies have developed their own operating systems—Tizen OS and webOS—to provide various content.
Their FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) services, Samsung TV Plus, and LG Channels generate revenue through advertisements that customers watch while watching free content. Moreover, they can expect additional revenue by licensing their OS to other TV manufacturers.
LG reported that revenue from its advertising content business for webOS surpassed KRW 1 trillion (approximately $694 million) in 2024. Other brands supply over 10 million smart TVs with WebOS. Samsung aims to strengthen its content business revenue through Tizen OS, which is installed on over 300 million Samsung smart TVs.