OLED TV market hit by Covid-19, OLED segment to grow: Report

Led by South Korea's LG Electronics, the global OLED TV market is expected to post relatively small growth this year, compared with the QLED TV sector, following a disruption in panel supply caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The global OLED TV shipment is expected to increase 7.8 per cent (year-on-year) to 3.375 million units this year, according to display market tracker WitsView, a research division of TrendForce.

On the other hand, global QLED TV shipment is expected to grow 41.8 per cent on-year to reach 8.27 million units this year, with aggressive sales promotions from the market leader Samsung Electronics.

"The OLED TV market faces the dual headwinds of hindered panel supply and high retail prices. Both market leader LG Electronics and Sony have revised down their shipment targets for OLED TVs this year," said WitsView.

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LG Display previously planned to have its OLED panel factory in Guangzhou, China, start mass production in the first quarter of the year, but it could not meet the schedule due to COVID-19 outbreak.

The company recently said it plans to fully operate the Guangzhou factory within the first half of the year.

"Aside from the pandemic-induced slowdown in OLED demand, the more flexible pricing of QLED products will also represent a substantial threat to the sales of OLED TVs this year, since the latter have historically maintained a high retail price," according to the WitsView report.

QLED is Samsung's marketing term for its liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs using quantum-dot technology to enhance performance in key picture quality areas.