'Pent-up Demand' Drives Record 1Q Shipments... Samsung and LG TV Set New Milestones

Samsung Neo QLED Leads
Expecting QLED Sales to Surpass 10 Million Units This Year
LG OLED TV 1Q Shipments Double Year-on-Year
Global TV Market Share Hits Record Quarterly High

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] The global TV market continued its boom in the first quarter of this year, with Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics achieving record-breaking shipment volumes. Samsung Electronics surpassed 2 million units in QLED TV shipments, recording the highest market share ever for a first quarter, while LG Electronics more than doubled its OLED TV shipments compared to the previous year, achieving the largest quarterly market share in history.

According to market research firm Omdia on the 25th, Samsung Electronics' TV market share in the first quarter of this year reached 32.9%, the highest ever for a first quarter.

Samsung TV's strong performance in the first quarter is attributed largely to increased sales of large-sized and premium TVs centered on QLED. In the global TV market in the first quarter, 2.68 million QLED units were sold, marking a 74.3% growth compared to the same period last year. Among these, Samsung Electronics' QLED sales reached 2.01 million units. This year, Samsung Electronics expects to surpass 10 million QLED units (7.79 million units last year), driven by the popularity of the newly launched Neo QLED.

In the large-sized TV market of 75 inches and above, Samsung Electronics solidified its position with a 46.5% share by value, especially recording a 52.4% share in the 80-inch and above market. In the global TV market, ultra-large products of 80 inches and above are a rapidly growing segment, with quantities increasing by 180% and value by 132% compared to the same period last year in the first quarter.

LG Electronics also enjoyed pent-up demand in the global TV market, achieving a record quarterly market share of 19.2%. This growth was driven by a significant increase in shipments of LG OLED TVs, a premium TV segment. In terms of units, LG Electronics shipped approximately 7.279 million TVs globally, including OLED and LCD, an increase of more than 15% compared to the previous year.

In the first quarter of this year, LG OLED TV shipments reached 792,000 units, growing 116% year-on-year and marking the highest shipment volume ever recorded in a first quarter. This figure is close to the shipment volume recorded in the fourth quarter of last year, which was the highest quarterly shipment volume.

The rapid growth of LG OLED TVs is even more significant considering that the product's average selling price (ASP) is close to $2,000, classifying it as a premium product. The ASP of LG OLED TVs is $1,996.3 (approximately 2,248,000 KRW), more than four times the average price of LCD TVs sold in the global market.

Thanks to the rapid growth of LG OLED TVs, the total OLED TV shipments from all market brands, including LG Electronics, also increased by more than 90% year-on-year to 1.192 million units. Omdia forecasts that the OLED TV market, which was around 3.65 million units last year, will reach a scale of 5.8 million units this year. OLED TVs are expected to account for 10% of the total TV market by value, reaching double-digit market share for the first time in history.

Meanwhile, global TV shipments in the first quarter reached 51.225 million units, nearly 10% higher than the same period last year, as pent-up demand continued from the second half of last year. This figure slightly exceeds the previous forecast of 50.245 million units.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.