TV Shipments Climb 8 Percent in April Ahead of World Cup

Global TV shipments increased 8% YoY in April 2026, according to Counterpoint Research. The growth was driven by brands and retailers extending channel inventory build-up ahead of the FIFA World Cup. The pull-in effect broadened across most regions during the month, with sell-in, rather than final consumer demand, acting as the primary driver.

TV shipments in North America, the World Cup host region, grew 10%. Much of the region's inventory was loaded evenly across January to April, driven by World Cup positioning, and YTD April shipments are also up 10%. MiniLED TVs remained the key battleground, with Samsung and Hisense launching competing new models across varying price bands to anchor their World Cup positioning. China remained subdued, with shipments declining 15%. The trade-in program continues in 2026, with TVs still eligible, but reduced front-quarter funding versus a year earlier, and the pull-forward of demand from the prior subsidy cycle continued to weigh on domestic consumption.

Western Europe recorded the strongest regional increase at 48%, the single biggest contributor to global growth in the month. The step-up was enabled by a combination of an unusually low base in the same month last year, a concentration of new-product launches by multiple brands ahead of the World Cup, and intensifying competition across the segment.

In Western Europe, Samsung remained the region's volume leader, holding the No. 1 brand position with a 27% share. The single largest increase among major brands, however, came from Xiaomi, whose shipments grew nearly 12 times YoY and roughly 4 times MoM. Xiaomi's share rose from 2% in April 2025 to 13% in April 2026. Importantly, this surge does not reflect broad-based growth for the brand: Xiaomi's global TV shipments actually declined 17% over January–April. The contrast suggests a redistribution of volume rather than expansion.

Amid the wider pivot by Chinese brands to redirect softening domestic volume toward overseas markets, Xiaomi stands out as the most pronounced case, shifting from a China domestic-led strategy toward an overseas-led one and building out new sales channels in Western Europe, concentrating its MiniLED push in a region where its prior-year base was minimal, which in turn amplified the year-on-year multiple. This was driven primarily by the channel rollout of its refreshed TV S Mini LED 2026 lineup, which began shipping across European markets, including Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, from March, with channel-fill accelerating into April. Building on Xiaomi's existing Mini LED range, the 2026 series lifted regional sell-in well above prior-year levels and outpaced the regional average.

“Xiaomi appears to be following the same path as TCL and Hisense,” said Bob O’Brien, Research Director at Counterpoint Research. “The persistent weakness in the Chinese domestic market has led TV makers to look overseas for growth prospects, and in advance of the World Cup, Western Europe is an attractive market to target. Xiaomi already has a strong position in the smartphone market in Europe, and they can build on that brand recognition to challenge the market leaders there.”