Sony market share in premium TVs surges in 2017

Japanese electronics giant Sony's market share in the premium television sector shot up sharply last year, industry data showed Tuesday, amid growing demand for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) sets.
 
Sony's market share in premium OLED TVs with a price tag of more than US$3,000 surged to 44 percent last year, up from zero percent in 2016.
 
Industry sources said Sony's dramatic rise could pose a threat to Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. at a time when the two South Korean tech giants are going all out to control the large-sized high-end premium TV market.
 
Still, others said there is no need to overreact to Sony's growth in terms of market share as the overall TV market is still dominated by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
 
The market share of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics in the global TV market came to 26.5 percent and 14.6 percent last year, respectively. In comparison, Sony ranked third with a market share of 10.2 percent.
 
LG Electronics' market share in OLED TVs worth less than US$1,500 came to 96.2 percent last year, establishing a monopoly in the market.
 
LG Electronics said its sales of OLED TVs in South Korea had surpassed the 14,000 unit mark as of January.
 
LG Electronics has been promoting OLED TVs, which boast improved resolution by having each pixel on the screen emit light. Such products are capable of expressing complete black and vivid colors compared with LCD products, which need backlights.

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