TV Shipments Grew 6 Percent in 1Q26 Ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup

Global TV shipments increased 6% year-on-year (YoY) to 50.3 million units in 1Q26, as retailers increased inventory ahead of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to Omdia. All regions grew YoY except for Mainland China, which continues to face weak local demand following domestic stimulus measures in 2025.

The two fastest-growing regions in the first quarter of 2026 were both considered developing economies, with Asia & Oceania (up 13%) and Latin America (up 12%) benefiting from Chinese vendors redirecting additional shipments into these regions. North America also posted particularly strong shipment growth (up 11%), despite being a highly saturated market. A combination of factors contributed to this growth, particularly in the US. As a co-host of this year’s World Cup, the US market offers retailers a clear opportunity to promote TV sets aggressively. At the same time, competition among retailers remains intense.

These factors have helped ensure that North American consumers remain largely insulated from the increased memory prices affecting a wide range of consumer electronics goods. Globally, TV prices have also remained surprisingly stable, despite headline-grabbing increases in memory prices. This reflects the highly competitive nature of the TV market and the shift in profit-generating momentum away from hardware and toward advertising.

Omdia’s latest database now tracks RGB LED TVs, which are initially expected to compete directly with OLED TVs because both technologies carry premium price tags. While RGB-based TVs represented only a small proportion of units in the first quarter of 2026, with just 39.4 thousand units shipped, the technology is set to play an increasingly important role through 2026 and in the coming years. This will be supported by more vendors introducing models and the potential for RGB LED technology to be used in mid-range TVs, similar to the adoption path of Mini LED technology.

“The Chinese market leads the adoption of RGB LED TVs, but this is primarily due to the early introduction of models from TCL and Hisense, ahead of international regions,” said Matthew Rubin, Research Manager, TV Set Research, Omdia. “With many more models being introduced ahead of the World Cup, shipment volume of this technology is expected to accelerate rapidly.”