China is the world’s largest market for televisions but until recently many consumers there have shunned OLED TVs, instead preferring LCD models, even when buying premium products.
However, that’s changing this year in a very dramatic way, as OLED TVs have suddenly become very much in demand, even as Chinese TV brands continue to push Mini-LED as an alternative in the premium segment.
China is the world’s top manufacturer of LCD panels for TVs, so it makes sense that its brands have tried to position Mini-LED as an equally good display technology as OLED, which is only manufactured in large volumes in South Korea. But Chinese consumers are no longer buying those arguments.
Just as in Europe and the U.S., Chinese TV buyers are now turning to OLED when looking for higher-end products, according to data from the research firm Omdia.
In China, premium TVs are defined as those that cost $2,500 or more, and it’s estimated that OLED TV sales will account for almost 80% of this market segment in 2025
That’s a dramatic 31% increase from 2024, when OLED TV sales accounted for just 47% of the premium TV market in that country.
Omdia notes that China’s premium TV segment is relatively small, because televisions with a price tag of 10,000 yuan (around $1,370) qualify for government subsidies, which means consumers can get a rebate of 20% of the product’s retail price. As such, premium TV sales in China are estimated at around $140 million to $211 million per year.
The dramatic gains in OLED TV sales will make the Chinese premium TV market look much more like what we see in Europe and the U.S., where OLED televisions account for more than 70% of sales in the higher-end segment.
Of course, it means that the share of premium LCD TVs will shrink from around 53% in 2024 to just 22% this year.
The rising sales in China are likely to help LG Display, the world’s biggest manufacturer of OLED TV panels, return to profitability this year, says the Korean newspaper KED Global. LG Display holds a market share of around 80% in terms of global OLED TV panel shipments, rivaled only by Samsung Display. It sells OLED TV panels to its parent company LG Electronics, as well as Samsung Electronics, Sony, Philips and Panasonic. Chinese TV brands such as Xiaomi, Skyworth, Hisense and Konka also buy LG’s OLED TV panels.
LG Display went all in on OLED last year when it shut down and sold its final LCD display manufacturing facility to the Chinese display manufacturer TCL CSOT, but its focus on the technology dates back to the early 2010s, when OLED TVs first entered the market.
For years, LG Display was the world’s only supplier of OLED TV panels, but the company is coming off of four years’ of losses, due to relatively low market penetration. However, OLED displays are now becoming a firm favorite for consumers, not only in TVs but also in computer monitors, and that means the company stands to benefit from its significant first-mover advantage.
According to Omdia, LG Display is on track to deliver a profit of more than 500 billion won ($340 million) this year.
