Sony is making strong progress in the USA, where it has finally shoved aside rival firm Vizio to become the country’s third-biggest TV seller. Samsung Electronics remains the number one brand, while LG Electronics stays in second.
The data from the second half of 2021 shows that Sony surpassed Vizio as the number three brand sometime during the third quarter. That’s according to the analyst firm Parks Associations.
Parks Associates Director of Research Paul Erickson said Samsung currently accounts for more than one fourth of all U.S. smart TV purchases. He added that smart TV adoption is now at an all-time high and that there may be some short-term saturation and conservatism in effect, though consumer TV purchasing is overall settling down following a dramatic increase in 2020.
“Sony still managed to grow in purchasing – despite downturns for the traditional top three brands – which may be related to its first-mover release of new Google TV Bravia models over 2021,” Erickson said.
Parks’ data isn’t immediately clear, but it appears to rank the top five TV brands based on total revenue rather than TV unit sales. Vizio came in fourth, while TCL was the fifth most popular brand.
Of course, 2021 was a year in which many consumers invested in a new TV to cope with ongoing COVID-19-related lockdowns. While every TV brand benefited from that, Sony was the first to launch new TVs powered by Google TV, a new user interface that sits atop of Android TV and brings more content recommendations to the fore. Google TV is the operating system of choice for all of Sony’s high-end 2021 and 2022 TVs.
Sony may get another innovation boost this year. Along with Samsung Electronics, it’s the first TV brand to launch new QD-OLED TVs this year. QD-OLED is a new display technology that marries Quantum Dots with OLED to show more brilliant colours, contrast and higher brightness than traditional OLED displays.
“Smart TVs have become the most-important media centerpiece for the home, and their prominence offers the industry numerous integration opportunities for smart home and connected health ecosystems,” Erickson added.
According to Parks Associations, 56% of U.S. households now own a smart TV, while 39% also possess a gaming console. That puts the U.S. out in front because on a global scale, smart TV ownership is only expected to surpass 50% by 2026, analysts believe.
