Korean tech giants hold nearly half of global TV market in Q1

South Korean tech giants have taken up nearly half of the world`s television market during the first three months of this year, a survey has shown.

According to U.S. market researcher DisplaySearch on Friday, Samsung Electronics posted a 29.6 percent share in the global flat-panel TV market in the first quarter to become the leader in the global TV market, followed by LG Electronics a 16.9 percent market share.

The two South Korean tech powerhouses held a combined 46.5 percent share in the world TV market in the first quarter, up from 42.1 percent of last year and 43.4 percent of 2012. Information-technology industry experts project that if the trend continues, South Korean companies` combined share in the world TV market will likely hit a record-high this year.

By contrast, Japanese TV makers` global market share continued to decline. The combined market share of Sony and Sharp in the global TV market fell from 13.1 percent in 2012 to 12 percent in 2013 and to 11.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.

One of the most salient features of the South Korean companies` first-quarter performances is that both Samsung and LG performed well in the ultra-high-definition (UHD) TV market. Although the two have been the top-two TV makers in the global market since the mid-2000s, their shares in the UHD TV sector were relatively low because they were preempted by Japanese and Chinese TV manufacturers.

However, the South Korean tech giants began to enter the UHD TV market since late last year. As a result, Samsung became the leader with a 21.6 percent share in the market in the first quarter, while LG ranked fourth with a 10.6 percent market share. Sony, which led the UHD TV market last year with a 22 percent share, ranked fifth with a 9.8 percent share.

"As Samsung and LG plunged into the UHD TV market in earnest, Sony seems to have lost much of influence rapidly," an IT industry official said.

Chinese TV manufacturers such as Hisense and Skyworth are maintaining their global market share by focusing on selling low-priced UHD TV models through their dense domestic sales networks. However, South Korean companies` share in the Chinese market will likely grow further, as the sales of their UHD TV products are sharply increasing in major Chinese cities with high income levels.

"Our curved UHD TVs are receiving good assessments in major markets," said Kim Hyeon-seok, who heads Samsung`s display division. "We plan to make efforts to set curved TVs as a new standard in the TV industry."