South Korean firms Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics once again dominated the world’s TV markets in 2021 thanks to strong sales of large, high-end models.
The latest data from U.K.-based market researcher Omdia shows that Samsung was the world’s best-selling TV firm for the 16th straight year in 2021, with a 29.5% market share in terms of sales value. LG ranked second with an 18.5% share of the market. It means the two firms together control almost half of the world’s TV market.
Samsung was especially strong in the premium TV segment, accounting for 42% of all sales value. Premium TVs are defined as those that cost $2,500 or more. In terms of larger TVs, Samsung accounted for 44.9% of all sales value for 80-inch and larger models.
Omdia said Samsung held onto its position as top TV vendor due to strong sales of its QLED TVs. Last year, it sold 9.43 million QLED TVs, bringing its total number to 26 million since the technology was first launched in 2017.
Samsung first topped the TV market in sales back in 2006, the same year its Bordeaux LCD TVs debuted, and has never relinquished its position. In 2021 it announced a number of new high-end QLED TVs, including new models sporting Mini-LED technology that adds more precise dimming controls, marketed as Neo QLED. Last year saw the company announce new MicroLED TVs too, though sales of those extremely expensive models were negligible.
As for LG Electronics, Omdia said in 2021 it shipped more than double the number of OLED TVs it sold in the previous year, at 4.05 million units. The global OLED TV market as a whole grew 80% in the year, to 6.53 million units.
Omdia said it expects OLED TV sales to surpass 8 million units this year, increasing its overall TV market share to 12.7%.
OLED TVs are getting more popular as the technology becomes more affordable and additional screen sizes are made available. They’re especially popular with movie buffs and gamers due to their stunning picture quality, enabled by the pure blacks OLED is capable of. This year, LG will sell the world’s first 42-inch OLED TV, an attractive size for gamers. That TV is expected to go on sale in the U.K. soon, priced at £1,399, according to a listing by the retailer John Lewis.
This year is also expected to be the first that Samsung dips its toes into the OLED TV market. The company is expected to launch a new QD-OLED TV at some stage this year, based on a new OLED technology developed by Samsung Display. While it hopes to ship around 500,000 QD-OLED TVs, Samsung is also negotiating with LG Display to buy another 1.5 million regular WOLED panels.
