TCL has leapfrogged LG Electronics to become the world’s second-largest supplier of “premium TVs”, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Research.
The Chinese company’s impressive milestone was first reported by FlatPanels HD, and the data reveals that TCL and its close rival Hisense are also getting closer to overhauling LG in terms of overall TV sales. It’s an achievement to be sure, though they still remain a long way behind Samsung Electronics, which has led the industry for close to two decades.
Counterpoint’s research shows that while the global TV market only grew by two percent in the last quarter of 2024, sales of premium TVs shot up by 51% in that three-month period.
TCL’s share of premium TV sales shot up to 20% from just 12% one year earlier, while LG’s share slipped from 26% one year ago to just 19% in the fourth quarter, just below TCL. Hisense also made strong gains, with its share of premium TV sales growing from 10% to 16%.
Intriguingly, while Samsung remains the leader, its position was eroded fairly significantly. Its market share fell to just 29% from 41% a year earlier, the report shows.
There is of course a lot of debate around what constitutes a “premium TV”, but for the purposes of the research Counterpoint defines them as Quantum-Dot Mini-LED, 8K LCD, QD-OLED, WOLED and MicroLED TVs. The research omits standard QLED and Mini-LED TVs,, as many of these models now sit in the mid-range segment.
The numbers are not really such a surprise, for TCL and Hisense have long been gunning for LG’s position in the number two spot. TCL has built some particularly impressive premium TVs, with last year’s TCL X11H Mini-LED earning rave reviews.
LG continues to impress with its high-end OLED TVs, though, with the LG C4 and G4 models from last year catching the attention of HDTVTest’s reviewer Vincent Teoh, and this year’s G5 OLED TV set to deliver some serious picture improvements with its new RGB Tandem OLED panel promising much higher brightness.
Whether or not LG’s new OLED TVs will help it to reclaim the second spot remains to be seen though, for overall sales of Mini-LED TVs have been growing extremely rapidly, rising more than 170% in the last year.
Moreover, broader market trends suggest LG is losing ground. The company was surpassed by TCL in terms of overall TV sales in 2022, and then Hisense nudged it into fourth place one year later.
