TV Shipments Expected to Increase by 3.4%... Industry Anticipates Sports-Driven Demand Boost

Beijing Olympics, Super Bowl, Qatar World Cup, and Other Events Creating an Environment to Boost Demand for Large and Premium TVs

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] As global TV shipments are expected to increase by about 3.4% this year, the TV industry is pinning hopes on increased TV sales driven by a series of upcoming sports events, starting with the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

According to market research firm TrendForce on the 5th, TV shipments this year are predicted to reach 217 million units, a 3.4% increase from last year. Despite TV manufacturers reducing the supply of small and medium-sized TVs such as 23.6-inch, 32-inch, and 43-inch models amid soaring panel prices last year, production of small and medium-sized TVs is expected to increase this year, along with shipments of premium TVs like OLED and miniLED.

The TV industry is fiercely competing to boost TV sales in line with the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Although the first quarter is traditionally considered an off-season for the TV market, this year, due to the special circumstance of the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, consumers are expected to purchase extra-large and premium products to enjoy sports games on large screens.

Samsung Electronics is holding a large-scale domestic discount event called ‘Samsung Electronics Sale Festa’ until the 13th of this month, selling event QLED stand-type TVs at 990,000 KRW limited to 70 units, and also offering Neo QLED TVs with mini LED technology at discounted prices. They are running a promotion that applies overlapping points based on price ranges and providing opportunities to jointly purchase QLED stand-type TVs and soundbars at about 30-40% discounted prices. LG Electronics, through the ‘Sports Festival with OLED’ event held until the 3rd, offered up to 3 million KRW ‘cheering cashback’ when purchasing LG OLED TVs, and cashback of up to 500,000 KRW and 100,000 KRW respectively on premium LCD TVs such as QNED and NanoCell.

Retailers are also supporting TV sales promotions, such as Emart running a ‘Premium TV Festa’ targeting Olympic ‘Jipgwanjok’ (people watching at home) until the 16th, selling Samsung QLED TVs and LG OLED TVs at the lowest prices of the year. Emart offers coffee coupons worth 20,000 KRW and 30,000 KRW for purchases of Samsung and LG TVs over 2 million KRW and 3 million KRW respectively, along with additional discount coupons and gift certificates.

The home appliance industry has set a strategy to sharply increase sales of large and premium TVs this year. This is because major sports events such as the Beijing Olympics this month, the NFL Super Bowl final (on the 13th), the Hangzhou Asian Games (September), and the Qatar World Cup (November) are scheduled.

Having confirmed last year that the surge in demand for TVs and other home appliances led to record sales, the industry is showing active efforts to utilize sports games in TV sales marketing again this year. Generally, as major sports events approach, more sports fans seek larger screens and better picture quality to watch games, leading to a concentration of TV purchases on extra-large and premium products.

An industry official said, "Large and premium TVs played a key role in last year’s performance," adding, "There are big concerns that TV demand might decline this year, but starting with the Olympics and the series of upcoming sports events, we have no choice but to actively leverage these events for TV sales."

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