Samsung Corners the TV Market
Flat panel TVs, both LCD and plasma, set the stage for a seismic shift manufacturing dominance. Where Sony was once the dominate player, back when TVs still had CRTs, today it’s Samsung. Samsung has been the ‘big boy on the block’ since 2006, but it’s become even bigger, verging on 20% of the global market share of TV sales.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Samsung is approaching a milestone not reached since the earliest days of television. And, Samsung has achieved the feat almost single-handedly, keeping production in-house, where it has greater control over quality, rather than outsourcing. Samsung shipped 38 million TVs in 2009, a 15 percent increase from 2008. It expects to ship 45 million in 2010.
Following on Samsung’s heels is LG Electronics, which accounts for 14.8 percent of the market. Panasonic (6.9 percent), TCL Electronics (6.6 percent), and Sony (5.9 percent), round out the top five. Together, these manufacturers account for 51.4 percent of the global television market.
Image Credit: Samsung