LG and Samsung losing premium TV share to Chinese brands

Historically, LG and Samsung – alongside Sony – have dominated the premium TV market, but Chinese brands like Hisense and TCL are rapidly gaining ground, according to market data.

Samsung's share of premium TV shipments dropped significantly from a commanding 43% in Q3 2023 to 30% in Q3 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. LG's share also declined, from 20% to 16% during the same period.

The big winners are Chinese brands, particularly Hisense and TCL. Hisense's share surged from 14% last year to 24% this year, while TCL's rose from 11% to 17%.

- "Chinese companies are already leading the market in standard LCD, and now they are focusing on the premium TV group that was dominated by Korean and Japanese companies. They are improving profits by adjusting their product portfolios and expanding their presence in all regions by enhancing their brand image," said Lee Je-hyeok, researcher at Counterpoint Research.



The premium TV market
Counterpoint defines premium TVs as OLED, QD-OLED, miniLED LCD, micro-LED, 8K LCD and 'QD-LCD', the latter encompassing edge-lit LCD TVs (Q60, Q70, The Frame) that arguably should not qualify. Without these, Samsung's share would be notably lower.

Hisense and TCL's success ties to a 102% year-over-year increase in miniLED LCD TV sales. Additionally, TCL has surpassed Samsung in the market for 'super large TVs' over 80 inches, according to Omdia.

LG's share primarily reflects its OLED TVs, as it does not have significant miniLED LCD sales. Meanwhile, Samsung is growing its share in OLED with QD-OLED TVs.


What will happen in 2025?
Hisense and TCL aim to maintain momentum in 2025 as consumers increasingly gravitate towards XXL TVs, a segment still dominated by LCD technology.

Beyond premium TVs, the global TV market grew 11% year-over-year in Q3 2024.



- Source: Counterpoint Research, DSCC