A brutal TV war is set to be played out in Australia again, and while is not new, at the start of a new year and weeks after several brands revealed new TVs at CES 2025, this one is promising to be different as Samsung looks to strip more share away from LG’s lucrative OLED TV with management claiming that sales of their OLED panels will “surge” this year.
Samsung has not been competitive in the OLED TV market having in the past stuck with their QLED and NeoQLD over a pure OLED TV for the simple reason that LG were the market leader in OLED because they have the capacity and the means to manufacture OLED panels.
18 months ago, Samsung bit the bullet and started buying OLED panels from LG, primarily because the South Korean Government wanted them to in an effort to protect the SK TV industry from the Chinese whose government were funding TV companies into the OLED TV market where LG has dominated.
New data shows that Samsung is still the global leader in TVs having grabbed 30.1% after heavy discounting and retailer incentives to push their TV range in 2023 in both Australia and worldwide.
The sales figure confirmed by Omedia Research were revealed yesterday as part of a Samsung announcement that they are looking to target LG sales of OLED TV’s.
the company said that sales of “QLED” reached 8.31 million units last year.
The interesting news was the fact that Samsung recorded 1.01-million-unit sales of OLED TVs in 2023, representing a sales (revenue) share of 22.7%.
This was achieved with their 55–77-inch QD-OLED TVs and in some Countries WOLED models.
The panels for these OLED TVs come from LG who while selling OLED panels at a discount are now losing OLED sales at retailers to Samsung who are seen as having a better marketing program.
SW Yong, President and Head of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics said “We are proud to be recognized as the market leader in the global TV sector for 18 consecutive years, a testament to the enduring trust and loyalty our customers place in Samsung,” said “We are deeply committed to advancing the industry, moving beyond exceptional picture quality to offer more meaningful and valuable experiences.”
The full Omdia report was not published, so it’s difficult to work out where LG, TCL and Sony are position in the market up against Samsung.
Samsung attributed its lead in the TV market last year to a strategic focus on premium and large-screen TVs, driven by “QLED” LCD and OLED TV models.
Samsung management claimed that its “market share in the OLED sector is projected to surge in 2024”.
The company will introduce its first 42- and 48-inch OLED TVs globally, with LG Display WOLED panels, as well as an 83-inch (W)OLED. The three 2024 OLED ranges are S85D, S90D and S95D.
These are expected to be launched in Australia in April.
According to our observations LG Electronics has maintained its position as the leader in the OLED TV segment with a 53% share in 2023, its 11th consecutive year in front.
Omedia claims that Samsung was able to hold on to share in premium TV market specifically for TVs over 75 inches and priced above A$3,800.
Omedia management said “The company (Samsung) has recorded an impressive 60.5% market share in terms of sales for TVs priced over A3,800, while also maintaining a lead with 33.9% sales share for TVs over 75 inches. In addition, and due to robust sales of 98-inch models, their TVs over 90 inches have maintained the lead with 30.4% market share,”.
Overall, 2023 saw sluggish TV sales, with less than 200 million units sold worldwide.