1 in 2 TVs sold worldwide this year is a Samsung or LG

The total market share of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in the global TV market on the basis of sales reached a record high in the first quarter of this year. South Korean TVs accounted for more than half of the global market partially because of the increased sales of premium TVs thanks to the “pent-up” demand.

According to the market research organization Omdia on Tuesday, the global TV sales in the first quarter of this year was 51.2 million units, 9.9 percent up from the same period last year at 46.6 million units. The sales amount of TVs increased by 32.8 percent from 20.63 billion dollars to 27.39 billion dollars during the same period. The sales price experienced a bigger increase than the number of sales due to a large growth in the sales of high-end premium products.

The first quarter’s growth of the TV market was driven by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which had global market shares of respectively 32.9 percent and 19.2 percent in the first quarter. With their total market share standing at 52.1 percent, it broke the previous record of 51.0 percent in the first quarter of the last year.

The two companies further widened the gap in the ultra-large premium TV market. Samsung Electronics has a market share of 46.5 percent in the 75-inch or larger super-large TV market. In particular, the electronic giant accounted for 52.4 percent of the 80-plus inch market. In the premium TV segment of 2,500 dollars or higher, which sold about 640,000 units in the first quarter, Samsung Electronics also had the biggest market share of 46.6 percent, followed by LG Electronics at 24.5 percent and Sony at 17.6 percent.

　

LG Electronics reached a record high quarterly market share in terms of sales amount thanks to the faster-than-expected growth of OLED TVs. Even in sales units, the company sold a total of 7.279 million units, including LCD TVs and OLED TVs, increasing its market share by 15 percent compared to the first quarter of the last year.


will@donga.com