Q1 2026 TV Market Outlook: How a Hisense-LG Deal Would Reshape Global Competition Dominated by Samsung & TCL
- As competition intensifies, global TV shipments rose 3% YoY in Q1 2026.
- TCL's global TV shipments grew sharply in Q1 2026, narrowing the gap with Samsung, a sign that seasonality no longer determines share position.
- From Q2 2026, a wave of new RGB Mini-LED TV lineups, followed by the potential sale of LG Electronics' TV business to Hisense and the TCL-Sony joint venture, points to major shifts ahead.
Seoul, Beijing, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Fort Collins, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, Taipei, Tokyo – May 29, 2026
According to Counterpoint Research’s Quarterly Global TV Shipments Tracker 2026Q1, global TV shipments rose 3% YoY in Q1 2026. In Q1 2026, Samsung recorded 8% YoY growth which was its highest growth in nearly two years. However, TCL narrowed the gap with Samsung at an even faster pace, achieving 22% YoY shipment growth, which is also the highest growth for TCL. Competition in the TV market is expected to intensify further in Q2 2026, which could become an important turning point for the global TV industry.
Samsung vs TCL Quarterly TV Shipment Share, Q1 2026
TCL posted shipment growth across all major TV categories, including QD LCD and MiniLED LCD TVs, with MiniLED LCD TVs serving as a key driver of overall growth. Samsung saw large YoY growth in W-OLED TV, but because volume of OLED TV remains small relative to other LCD TVs, the impact of this growth on total shipments was limited.
Competition is expected to intensify further in Q2 2026 and beyond. Between March and May 2026, multiple brands launched TV lineups under different strategies. Hisense and TCL positioned their MiniLED LCD TVs as flagship LCD lines, while LG Electronics positioned more affordable entry-level OLED TVs within its lineup, lowering the barrier to entry into the OLED segment. Samsung tiered its pricing most aggressively, splitting the range into the premium R95H and a step-down R85H, bringing a 55-inch RGB MiniLED LCD TV to a sub-$2,000 price point.
This market dynamic will become even more volatile, beyond products, to corporate structure. Samsung's Visual Display Division named a new head in early May, with the appointee expected to steer the business toward platform initiatives rather than hardware alone. TCL negotiated its joint venture with Sony in March 2026, with formal operations slated for April 2027. On top of this, speculation has emerged that LG Electronics may establish a TV joint venture and pursue closer cooperation with Hisense. If such a partnership were to materialize, the combined operation could vault to the top of the global TV market in a single move. With developments like this beginning in Q1 2026 and extending well beyond 2027, the industry appears set for seismic shifts ahead.
Global TV Market Share by Brand, 2025*
*Based on 2025 Global TV Shipments
According to Jayden Lee, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, "Because Hisense could naturally claim the global No. 1 shipment title by leveraging the OLED know-how of LG Electronics' TV business, its own No. 4 share, and the premium of an established sales network, I believe it would prioritize exploring a joint venture (JV) as the route to cooperation, mapping out its strategy while keeping risk to a minimum."
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Author
Jayden Lee
Jayden Lee joined Counterpoint Research as part of its acquisition of DSCC, where he was Director of Display Equipment and Materials. He is located in Seoul, Korea. Jayden has around 20 years of experience working in the flat panel display. Since 2005, he was employed at Ushio Korea, a leading light source and equipment company which plays an important role in the lithography supply chain. While at Ushio, Jayden had responsibility for light sources and related equipment used in photo and deposition processes as well as FPD substrate cleaning.