LG Electronics poised to extend OLED TV market lead into 2025  

LG Electronics Inc. is on track to retain its lead in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV market for the 13th consecutive year, bolstered by strong first-quarter sales and rising demand for ultra-large-sized OLED TVs.

The South Korean electronics giant shipped about 704,400 units of OLED TVs in the January-March quarter this year, capturing the largest 52.1% of the total global OLED TV market by volume, according to data from global technology industry tracker Omdia.

Samsung Electronics Co. ranked second with 30.8%, followed by Sony Corp. at 7.1%.

Compared to the same period of last year, LG OLED TV shipments rose 12.4%, while its market share edged up by 0.6 percentage point.

In terms of revenue, LG Electronics also led the field with a 47.2% share, trailed by Samsung Electronics at 35.4% and Sony at 8.8%.

LG’s dominance was largely driven by robust demand for its ultra-large OLED TVs, especially those with screens 80 inches or larger, which commanded 63.6% of their category.

Its models 70 inches and above also controlled 54.9% of the segment. 

Large-screen OLED TVs are becoming a key growth engine. TVs 70 inches or bigger made up 15.3% of the entire OLED TV market, up 1.2 percentage points from a year ago.

In the premium TV market – defined as TVs priced above $1,500 – OLED models gained ground, rising 3.5 percentage points to 44.8% of shipments.  

At the current pace, the share of LG OLED TVs is expected to exceed 50% in the global premium TV market in 2025.  

NO. 1 FOR 13 YEARS STRAIGHT

Buoyed by its stellar first-quarter performance, LG is doubling down on efforts to maintain its leadership in the global OLED TV market for a 13th straight year this year through both software and hardware enhancements.

The Korean tech major aims to bolster its position in the premium TV market with upgrades to its proprietary webOS smart TV operating platform, its brighter OLED TV displays and an advanced wireless video transmission system.

In total, LG shipped 5.09 million units of TVs in the first quarter, including liquid crystal display (LCD) models, capturing 15% of the global TV market by value.

Overall global TV shipments rose 2.4% to nearly 47.5 million units, marking the first quarterly increase in four years.

OLED TV shipments also climbed 11% to more than 1.35 million units, reversing a three-year downward trend thanks to higher demand for large OLED TVs.  

Demand for large OLED TVs started rising fast in Europe and the US early last year, ahead of special events such as the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The OLED TV market is expected to gain further traction this year as Chinese consumers have joined Western consumers in their rapid shift toward large OLED TVs as a premium TV option.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at why29@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.