China now sells televisions at prices once thought impossible. A 40- or 50-inch set can cost little more than 1,000 yuan, while screens approaching 100 inches sell for just over 10,000 yuan. Yet even as prices collapse, demand at home continues to fade. The paradox has become one of the clearest signals that China’s consumer electronics market is being reshaped not by affordability, but by deeper structural shifts in housing, entertainment habits, and user experience.
In 2024, China shipped just 35.96 million televisions domestically, according to data from consultancy Runto Technology (洛图科技), a decline of 1.6% from the previous year and the lowest annual total in nearly 15 years. The figure is striking not only for its weakness, but for what it contrasts with: North America, with a population of just over 300 million, recorded 44.9 million TV shipments in the same year, a 3.5% increase.
For an industry long accustomed to relying on China’s 1.4 billion consumers, the imbalance underscores how population size alone no longer guarantees demand.
A Market Shrinking at Home, Expanding Abroad
The downturn did not arrive suddenly. China’s TV market peaked around 2016 at roughly 50 million units, slipped below 40 million in 2021, and fell under 36 million in 2024. The first half of last year accounted for 16.39 million units, with modest policy-driven support lifting shipments slightly in the second half, though not enough to reverse the trend.
Analysts point first to property. A prolonged real estate slowdown has reduced new-home completions and renovations, traditionally a major driver of TV purchases. At the same time, high housing prices in major cities have constrained living space. Smaller apartments leave little room for large living-room setups, weakening the appeal of big-screen televisions despite falling prices.
Entertainment habits have also shifted decisively. Short-video platforms, which began rising around 2015, reached a penetration rate of 95% by 2024, with users spending more than two hours a day scrolling. Data from Aowei Cloud Network show that TV power-on rates dropped from about 70% in 2016 to below 30% by 2022, with indications they have fallen further since. Smartphones and tablets now dominate leisure time across age groups, offering instant access, interactivity, and social engagement that traditional TVs struggle to match.
Operational complexity has compounded the problem. Where televisions once turned on instantly with a single remote, many now require navigating multiple devices, long boot times, signal selection, and mandatory startup ads lasting 15 to 30 seconds. Layered subscription models — where core memberships do not cover children’s content, sports, or final episodes of popular dramas — have further alienated users. Hardware may be cheap, but the experience often feels costly in time and patience.
Why the U.S. Looks Different
The contrast with the United States highlights how usage, not income alone, shapes demand. In North America, TV shipments grew in 2024 largely due to large-screen and premium models. Sets 75 inches and above saw shipment growth of 35%, driven by Mini LED and other high-end technologies. American households remain more reliant on televisions as a primary entertainment hub, and user interfaces tend to be simpler, with fewer remotes, faster startup times, and clearer subscription structures.
TCL’s U.S. performance illustrates the difference. In the first three quarters of 2024, its shipments of TVs 75 inches and larger in the U.S. jumped 73%. Samsung retained its position as the world’s top TV brand for the 19th consecutive year, holding 44.4% of global TV revenue share, but Chinese brands are closing the gap.
Globally, the TV market shipped 208 million units in 2024, up 3.48% year-on-year. China was a major contributor — but mostly as a supplier, not a buyer. Exports reached 110.54 million units, an 11.4% increase, accounting for 53% of global shipments. Hisense, TCL, and Xiaomi together held 31.3% of global market share, overtaking South Korea’s Samsung and LG combined at 28.4% for the first time. Omdia data show Chinese brands’ share of global TV revenue rising from 13.5% in 2020 to 22.9% in 2024.
In high-end segments, Samsung still leads with around 30% share, but Hisense and TCL have doubled their presence. In North America, Korean brands account for about 53% of large-screen TV sales, though Chinese brands dominate the mid- and lower-end. Trade frictions and tariffs have pushed Korean manufacturers to expand production in Mexico, while Chinese firms face more constraints — yet the U.S. market is still expected to grow modestly, by about 0.4%, through 2025.
An Industry Forced to Rethink
China’s domestic malaise has prompted soul-searching. Runto Technology forecasts that 2025 domestic shipments will slip slightly again to 35.88 million units, down 0.2%, even as high-end and large-screen segments expand. Mini LED shipments alone are expected to exceed 9 million units. Industry concentration is already high: the top eight brands control 94.9% of the market. In 2024, Hisense led domestic shipments with 8 million units, followed by Xiaomi at 7.1 million and TCL at 6.8 million. Globally, the Hisense group shipped 29.14 million TVs, ranking second worldwide.
China’s manufacturers remain world leaders in ultra-large screens, holding 19.8% of the global market for TVs 75 inches and above, 30.3% for 98-inch models, and 58.8% for 100-inch sets. The challenge is not capability, but relevance at home.
Some brands have begun to respond by stripping back complexity: fewer remotes, simplified interfaces, reduced startup ads, and more unified content subscriptions. Market surveys suggest these changes are particularly appealing to middle-aged users. Government policy may also provide limited support; in 2025, expanded subsidies are expected to cover up to 20% of the cost of energy-efficient models, with e-commerce platforms playing a larger role in driving sales.
Longer term, manufacturers are betting on artificial intelligence features, overseas expansion, and regulatory pressure against excessive “involution” — destructive price competition — to stabilize margins. Omdia expects North American retailers to control about 47% of TV operating system market share by 2029, reshaping the global ecosystem Chinese brands must navigate.
The conclusion emerging across the industry is blunt. Televisions are not disappearing, but in China they must adapt to a radically different entertainment ecology. Hardware leadership alone is no longer enough. Without simpler experiences and clearer value, even the cheapest screens risk being left dark in living rooms already lit by smartphones.
