A fresh report from Counterpoint regarding TV shipments is now providing some extra insight into the shifting TV market leadership following Sony’s high-profile handoff of its TV business over to competitor TCL.
What’s in the Report
Counterpoint’s Global Monthly TV Tracker looks at global TV shipments through the lens of individual manufacturers and market leadership, differing from prior research we’ve looked at, which focused on shipments through the lens of country of origin.
This most recent report looks at monthly TV shipments from November and found that, in total, global TV shipments declined 1% year-over-year (YoY) in November 2025. Samsung remained the leading global TV brand in 2025, although its global number of shipments declined 3% YoY.
Competitor Hisense also saw a sharp decline in TV shipments, dropping 13% YoY as the Chinese market (which accounts for 27% of Hisense’s total shipments) saw a sharp slowdown following the expiration of government subsidies.
Contrary to this narrative, however, TCL’s global TV shipments surged 20% YoY in November.
Elsewhere, LG saw a modest increase of 7% YoY for its shipments while Walmart, after having finalized its Vizio acquisition in December 2024, saw itself enter the top five after a year of explosive growth.
Some Extra Context
In a separate report released by Omdia, researchers noted that due to the recent expiration of Chinese subsidies, the any manufacturer with heavy dealings in China saw a significant drop in global shipping volume.
In the Counterpoint report, researchers additionally noted that many of the brands that saw gains in November had relatively low exposures to the Chinese market.
Both researchers also noted that due to the sudden cooling of the Chinese market, Chinese-based manufacturers like TCL and Hisense are likely to begin pushing growth in other markets, with it being noted that TCL’s explosive growth in November was largely due to its diversification into other markets.
The New Elephant in the Room
TCL is already entering into the new year with a leg up on its competition following an unprecedented deal inked with Sony to run the latter’s TV business. As part of this deal, TCL will have 51% share in Sony’s TV business, giving it control over governance and day-to-day operations while Sony will continue to contribute its picture processing, audio technologies and brand identities to products like BRAVIA.
“For Sony, the attraction is obviously supply-chain leverage; TCL’s LCD ecosystem, including MiniLED, is one of the strongest globally,” notes Yoshio Tamura, VP of Research for Counterpoint.
“The competitive read-through is pressure on Samsung and LG, particularly around premium positioning.”
The Premium Market Battleground
In summarizing the report, Research Director Bob O’Brien said, “In 2026, Samsung will remain the global TV market leader, while Chinese brands such as TCL, Hisense and Xiaomi will rapidly expand their presence across various segments.
“In particular, they are increasing shipments in high-growth segments such as MiniLED and mid-to-large-size screens, increasing competitive pressure.”
American markets have shown no satiation for their appetite of larger screens in recent years, with the average screen size purchased among American consumers increasing compared to prior years.
Additionally, at the recently concluded CES 2026, one of the biggest highlights of the show was the arrival of RGB LED TVs, which themselves are already beginning to stoke competition among major competitors in the premium TV market.
What Shouldn’t Be Missed About Hisense
While Hisense suffered a significant drop in TV shipments in November, integrators wouldn’t want to count out the company’s presence as a potential growing force in American markets.
The company has made plenty of moves recently indicating its intent to grow its presence more in the premium TV hardware space, including hiring multiple ex-Samsung employees to help head strategy for its North America TV business.
Takeaways
Competition from Hisense and TCL is likely to ramp up heading into 2026, and with Sony taking a more passive role in the TV industry thanks to its deal with TCL, Samsung stands to face the most competition as now Samsung, TCL and Hisense represent the top three TV manufacturers globally in terms of shipments, with TCL not too far behind Samsung.
