Global TV market tipped to shrink 9% in 2020 on virus impact

The global TV market is expected to contract for the first time in three years in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday.

In its latest market report, Omdia, formerly IHS Markit, predicted global TV shipments to decline 8.7 percent on-year to 203.5 million units this year.

The projection is down from 9.7 percent from an estimate of 225 million units made at the start of the year.

Global TV shipments fell to 217 million units in 2017 from 222 million a year earlier before rising in 2018 and 2019.

Shipments of OLED TVs, of which LG Electronics Inc. is the world's No. 1 maker, are forecast to grow 17 percent from a year earlier to reach 3.5 million units this year.

The figure, however, is down from Omdia's earlier projection of 4.5 million units.

Omdia also cut its forecast of global QLED TV shipments to 8.13 million units from an earlier 8.54 million. Samsung Electronics Co. leads the QLED TV sector.

Last month, Omdia predicted global TV shipments to fall nearly 5 percent on-year in the first quarter of this year due to Chinese makers' disrupted production caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Industry watchers warned global TV sales would likely drop sharply in the second quarter as Samsung and LG, the top two industry players in the world, have shuttered their overseas plants in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Samsung topped the global TV market for the 14th consecutive year in 2019 with a market share of 30.9 percent, followed by its local rival LG Electronics Inc. with 16.3 percent and Japan's Sony Corp. with 9.4 percent. (Yonhap)