[Edaily Reporter SOYEON KIM ] While the global TV market remains flat, the premium organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV market is leading the market rebound with growth in the 20% range. In the mid-to-low-end LCD (liquid crystal display) TV market, SamsungElectronics and China’s TCL are locked in a neck-and-neck race, separated by just 0.1 percentage points.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research on the 18th, OLED TV shipments increased by 12% year-over-year in June of this year and grew by 20% for the second quarter as a whole. While total global TV shipments declined slightly, OLED TV shipments rose significantly.

Research

LGELECTRONICS maintained its top position in the OLED TV market, capturing more than half of the market with a 57% and 52% market share in June and the second quarter, respectively. LG Display’s Large Panel Business Division is focusing on lowering the entry price of OLED TVs by reducing the cost of W (white) OLEDs for TVs, such as through the launch of WOLED SE, which removes the polarizing film to cut production costs.

Bob O’Brien, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, explained, “In recent years, OLED TVs have ceded ground in the ultra-premium market to relatively affordable Mini LED TVs,” adding, “When comparing large-screen Mini LED TVs with relatively smaller OLED TVs in a similar price range, a significant number of consumers chose Mini LED.” He added, “LG Display is countering this trend by introducing low-cost OLED TV panels, and there is a good chance it will win back some of those customers.”

Global TV shipments in June of this year fell 4% compared to the same month last year. TV shipments in the second quarter of this year declined slightly by 0.4% year-over-year. By manufacturer, Philips, SamsungElectronics, and TCL maintained growth, while Hisense, Huawei, and Changhong struggled.

In the LCD TV segment, the gap between the top players has virtually disappeared. As of June, TCL recorded 13.8% and SamsungElectronics 13.7%, with the two locked in a close race for first and second place, separated by just 0.1 percentage points. The two companies are competing across all price ranges—from entry-level to ultra-premium—using both Mini LED and RGB Mini LED technologies.

Counterpoint Research explained, “SamsungElectronics and TCL are competing head-to-head in similar price ranges using different technologies,” adding, “While SamsungElectronics is expanding its RGB backlight-based TVs from flagship to entry-level models, TCL is limiting RGB Mini LED to large premium models and has positioned non-RGB SQD Mini LED at the top of its technology stack.”