TCL, Hisense Threaten Samsung’s Leadership in Premium TV Market

Global Advanced TV shipments increased 44% as revenues increased 35% in 1Q25, according to Counterpoint Research. TCL and Hisense were the market’s key drivers, more than doubling shipments compared to the same period last year and coming closer to rivaling Samsung, the market’s leading brand for the last 20 years. Hisense and TCL accounted for a huge portion of shipment growth, reflecting the rise of Chinese brands over the past year.

In terms of regional markets, China was the main driver. “Helped by government incentives that encouraged consumers to trade in older TVs for new models, and aggressive promotions from domestic brands, Advanced TV revenues in China surged at triple-digit percentages,” said Bob O’Brien, Research Director at Counterpoint Research. “Chinese consumers purchased bigger, more expensive TV sets with more advanced display technologies.”

The revenue growth in the China market, plus share gains in other key regional markets, drove global share growth for both Hisense and TCL. Both companies saw triple-digit increases in shipments. Revenues for Hisense and TCL increased by 87% and 74% respectively. Hisense’s unit share of the premium TV market increased from 14% in 1Q24 to 20% in 1Q25, and its revenue share increased from 13% to 17%. TCL’s unit share jumped from 13% to 19% and its revenue share increased from 13% to 16%. Beyond the top two in China, Xiaomi and Skyworth also registered big gains.

Those gains came largely at the expense of the two South Korean giants. While LG and Samsung focused their efforts on OLED TV, the Chinese brands were making OLED less important to the overall premium market by aggressively promoting large-screen MiniLED LCD models. MiniLED is taking an increasingly larger share of the super-premium market. MiniLED TV shipments and revenues surpassed OLED in 2Q24, and it has increased its share of the super-premium market in each quarter since then.

“MiniLED TVs typically compete at price points similar to OLED TVs, but because of the cost difference between OLED and LCD TV panels, consumers face a choice between a smaller OLED TV or a larger MiniLED TV,” said O’Brien. “An increasing number of consumers are choosing MiniLEDs.” Shipments of 75” and larger Advanced TVs increased 79% while revenues grew 59%.

TCL was the first brand to introduce MiniLED in 2019, but Samsung’s introduction of MiniLED in 2021 allowed it to quickly dominate the category. Samsung still led the category in 2023 but was passed in 2024, first by TCL, then by Hisense, and then by Xiaomi. In 1Q25, Samsung held the #4 position in units and #3 position in revenues, looking up at its Chinese competitors.

For the first time in decades, Samsung faces a legitimate threat of losing leadership of the TV market. The Chinese TV brands, especially TCL and Hisense but also Xiaomi and Skyworth, have chosen not to try to compete with Samsung’s strength in OLED TV, but instead have chosen to leverage China’s dominance in LCD to achieve a lower-cost position, and then leverage that lower cost to aggressively promote very large MiniLED LCD screens which the South Korean brands cannot match. Consumers are increasingly showing that the Chinese brands have made the right choice. The largest-size TVs drove the growth in both units and revenues in Q1.