Driven by demand from the FIFA World Cup and Amazon Prime Day promotional periods, global TV shipments rose 3.6% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026 to 48.8 million units. The latest data from market research firm Omdia shows that developed markets such as Western Europe and North America were the primary growth drivers this quarter, while the Chinese market posted a double-digit decline as consumer stimulus policies came to an end. At the same time, the competitive landscape for Mini LED TVs underwent dramatic shifts, with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics surging to the top spot in global shipments in the second quarter, displacing Chinese brand TCL from its previous leading position.

The Chinese market has long been a key engine for global TV shipments, but this quarter it became the largest source of downward pressure. Omdia data indicates that Chinese TV shipments fell sharply by 15.1% year-over-year in the second quarter, primarily due to a notable cooling of demand after domestic consumer stimulus policies ended.

By contrast, developed markets delivered impressive results. Western European shipments grew 9.5% year-over-year, while the North American market expanded 4.7%. As North America is home to two of the three World Cup host countries, the tournament schedule had a significant pull-through effect on large-screen TV demand. Emerging markets also showed strong momentum, with Eastern European shipments up 14.5% year-over-year and Latin America and the Caribbean up 12.8%.

Notably, against the backdrop of weak domestic demand in China, Chinese TV brands continued to intensify their push into overseas markets, which became an important driver of growth in some emerging markets.

Memory Supply Tightens, Price Pressure Gradually Emerges

The impact of memory supply constraints on TV shipments remained limited in the second quarter, according to Omdia analysis, mainly because brands continued to promote older product lines and draw down existing low-cost memory inventories. However, with memory supply expected to remain tight and prices set to rise further, TV products may face greater cost and pricing adjustment pressure this year.

Omdia also expects that, given the more severe supply constraints on low-capacity memory, brands will accelerate the shift from low-resolution TVs to 4K models in order to optimize memory allocation and maintain profit structures.

Mini LED Competition Intensifies as Samsung Returns to the Top

Adoption of Mini LED TVs accelerated significantly in the second quarter, accounting for 13% of global TV shipments. Samsung and South Korea’s LG Electronics simultaneously expanded their Mini LED product lineups and lowered entry-level model prices, further heating up market competition and directly impacting Chinese brands TCL and Hisense, which had previously held dominant positions.

Omdia data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, TCL still led global Mini LED TV shipments with a 30.2% market share, but by the second quarter, Samsung had jumped from third place to market leader with a shipment share of 28.2%. TCL fell to second place at 23.3%, Hisense held 17.2%, and LG Electronics ranked fourth at 12.4%.

Looking at the competitive landscape by country camp, Korean brands Samsung and LG Electronics together accounted for 40.6% of the market, while Chinese brands TCL and Hisense combined for 40.5% — a near-even split. Looking back to 2022, Samsung commanded a 76% share of the Mini LED market, with TCL and Hisense combined at just 14%. However, Chinese brands expanded rapidly on the strength of price competitiveness, reaching a combined 56% share by 2025, while Samsung fell to 19%. This year, the Korean camp’s counteroffensive has clearly intensified, reshuffling the market landscape once again.

TrendForce data shows that Samsung’s Mini LED TV shipments in the first half of the year surged more than 200% year-over-year; LG Electronics also climbed rapidly from a mere 1% market share in 2024 to 12.4% in the second quarter.

RGB LED Market Competition Heats Up

Competition in the higher-end RGB LED TV market is also intensifying rapidly. Omdia data shows that global RGB LED TV shipments reached 295,000 units in the second quarter of 2026. At the start of the year, Hisense held an absolutely dominant position with a 77.2% market share, and the Chinese market accounted for 88.8% of global RGB LED shipments.

But by the second quarter, as Samsung and Sony aggressively entered the space, Hisense’s market share had fallen back to 42.9%. Matthew Rubin, research manager of Omdia’s TV research division, said: “The heavy promotion of RGB LED TVs during the World Cup period has undoubtedly helped raise consumer awareness of the technology. As adoption increases, RGB LED will compete increasingly fiercely with OLED in the premium segment. Consumer preferences may hinge on pricing, as well as how clearly consumers can assess the differences between the two technologies.”

Chinese Brand Marketing Controversies Mount

As Korean brands rapidly regained market share, the marketing practices of Chinese TV brands have also drawn controversy. Market sources indicate that TCL recently issued a press release in South Korea claiming that its SQD Mini LED TV received perfect scores on four indicators in an “Omdia picture quality evaluation.” However, Omdia’s original report clearly states that the picture quality scores were the result of TCL’s own measurements, not direct testing and scoring by Omdia.

An Omdia representative responded: “The evaluation was not conducted by Omdia, but was completed by TCL through its own measurements. The report clearly states that TCL conducted the measurements itself.” Electronics industry sources noted that given TCL’s scale, it is unlikely the company was unaware of who conducted the evaluation, and the move reflects the sense of crisis among Chinese brands amid the strong counteroffensive from Korean rivals.

Additionally, TCL’s entry-level RGB Mini LED TV “Q9M,” launched earlier this year, does not feature independent red LED chips, but instead uses blue and green LEDs combined with red phosphor to achieve red light — yet it is still marketed under the RGB Mini LED name, sparking controversy over technical nomenclature. In Germany, the Munich Regional Court ruled in March of this year that some QLED TV advertising by TCL’s German subsidiary could mislead consumers; Hisense, meanwhile, faced successive consumer class-action lawsuits in the United States over QLED technology labeling in February, April, and November of last year.

Lee Eun-hee, a professor in the Department of Consumer Studies at South Korea’s Inha University, noted that if consumers are led to believe a product has been evaluated by a credible professional institution when it has not, this could constitute deceptive advertising. She emphasized that statements about verification by professional institutions directly influence consumers’ quality judgments, and clearly disclosing who conducted the evaluation is critical.

From a supply chain perspective, the rapid rise of Chinese brands over the past few years has been rooted in the cost advantages brought by vertical integration. TCL sources LCD panels through its affiliate TCL CSOT, and in December last year acquired an 80% stake and bonds in LED chip maker Prima for CNY 490 million (approximately $72.9 million), further strengthening its supply chain control. Omdia estimates that for an 85-inch 4K TV module, the manufacturing cost of an SQD Mini LED with 5,000 color dimming zones is approximately $1,400, about 20% lower than an RGB Mini LED of equivalent specifications, providing Chinese brands with a solid foundation for price competition.

However, as Samsung extends its Mini LED product line from the high-end to the mid-range market, and LG Electronics incorporates Mini LED into its premium TV strategy that was originally centered on OLED, the product competitiveness and brand premium of Korean brands are once again squeezing the survival space of Chinese brands. The Mini LED TV market has evolved from Samsung’s near-monopoly four years ago into a head-to-head confrontation between two evenly matched camps — Korean and Chinese. The subsequent choices in pricing strategy and technology roadmaps will determine the direction of the next phase of market landscape shifts.