LG to benefit from global mid-sized OLED TV sales growth

Medium-sized organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs are in the spotlight in the global premium TV market, where consumers have preferred larger screens over smaller ones. South Korea’s LG Display Co., which produces the world’s whole panels for the 42- and 48-inch OLED TVs, is expected to benefit from the new trend.  

The global sales of 42- and 48-inch OLED TVs will reach 1.42 million units this year with a 50% increase from the last year, according to global industry tracker Omdia. The mid-sized OLED TVs are in growing demand as an extra TV for European households and gaming TV for global game players, industry sources said.  

LG Electronics Inc., the global home appliance maker, launched the world’s first 48-inch OLED TV using LG Display’s panels in 2020.

As competitors Sony, Panasonic, Philips and Hisense rolled out their OLED TVs of the same size, the global mid-sized OLED TV market has expanded with a steady sales growth.

LG Display is manufacturing the entire OLED panels for the world’s 42- and 48-inch OLED TVs. The firm has been making 48-inch OLED TV panels and kicked off mass production of 42-inch ones this year.

The European market is driving the mid-sized OLED TV sales growth, consuming around 50% of the TVs manufactured worldwide.

“European consumers highly prefer premium products. Despite the global recession, the high-quality mid-sized OLED TVs are purchased as a side TV for European families adding to the main TV in their houses,” an industry source said.

The mid-sized OLED TVs are also popular with global game players, thanks to quicker responses than laptop and desktop monitors and better three-dimensional image quality.

This makes the OLED TVs attractive, especially console games or the games that have high-spec graphics processing unit (GPU) requirements.

Setting gaming TV as a core future engine growth, LG Display founded a unit for gaming displays earlier this year within the division that mainly handles TV panels.

Omdia forecast that the global 42- and 48-inch OLED TV sales will soar to 1.6 million in 2023, 10 times 160,000 units in 2020.

Mid-sized OLED TV has created its unique categories, such as high-quality side TV and gaming TV, beyond the general trend of “the bigger, the better,” an industry official said.

Despite mid-sized OLED TV's popularity, the overall TV market is forecast to shrink this year due to the inflationary pressure and the Russia-Ukraine war. Omdia expected that worldwide TV sales will reach 209 million units in 2022, with a 3% drop from the last year.

Write to Sung-soo Bae at baebae@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.