In the global color TV market, Samsung and LG stand out as fierce Korean competitors. Meanwhile, in China and beyond, TCL and Hisense emerge as equally formidable Chinese giants. However, with Samsung's withdrawal from the Chinese home appliance market and TCL's acquisition of Sony's global TV business, the intense rivalry between these Chinese color TV leaders is set to reshape brand dynamics and industry trends in top-tier markets over the next three to five years, potentially paving the way for new industry champions.

Written by Kong Yu

A Closer Look at the Color TV Industry Landscape

In recent years, Hisense TV has proudly claimed the title of 'China's No. 1, World's No. 2.' Yet, the revenue of its parent company, Hisense Visual Technology, has long since been surpassed in China's color TV sector. Instead, TCL Electronics, the parent company of TCL TV, has firmly established itself as the market leader.

According to the 2025 financial reports released earlier, Hong Kong-listed TCL Electronics achieved a milestone with its revenue exceeding HK$100 billion for the first time, reaching HK$114.583 billion, marking a 15.4% increase. Its net profit attributable to the parent company soared by 41.8% to HK$2.495 billion. In contrast, mainland-listed Hisense Visual Technology reported a slight 1.45% decline in revenue to RMB 57.679 billion, with its net profit attributable to the parent company rising by 9.24% to RMB 2.454 billion. Specifically, TCL Electronics' large-size display business (color TVs) generated HK$64.708 billion in revenue, up 7.7%, while Hisense Visual Technology's smart display terminal business (color TVs) reported HK$44.964 billion in revenue, down 4.36%.

In the first quarter of 2026, TCL Electronics' revenue reached HK$29.23 billion, a 15.3% increase, with its adjusted net profit attributable to the parent company surging by 140% to HK$380 million. During the same period, Hisense Visual Technology's main business revenue stood at RMB 13.5 billion, up 9.4%, with its net profit attributable to the parent company reaching RMB 590 million, a 6.71% increase.

Despite these financial figures, in the Chinese market, Hisense still enjoys a higher first-mention rate among representative local TV brands than TCL. This is attributed to Hisense's long-standing reputation for quality and technological prowess, reflecting decades of sustained investment and effort in product quality, technology, services, and marketing.

A review of both companies' financial reports reveals that TCL's TV business revenue significantly outpaces Hisense's, thanks to its global full-business model backed by a comprehensive industry chain (including own-brand and OEM strategies), which has fueled rapid revenue growth. However, from an operational quality standpoint, Hisense TV has outperformed TCL by enhancing its operational capabilities through its own brand and mid-to-high-end large-screen TVs. This explains why Hisense TV still commands higher brand recognition than TCL TV.

Over the past five years, TCL has rapidly gained market share in the color TV sector by leveraging its strengths in 'full-industry-chain, globalization, and scale,' leaving competitors like Skyworth and Xiaomi far behind and launching a strong frontal assault on Hisense. The speed, model, support, and engines behind this surge have become TCL TV's blueprint for commercial competition. Particularly in the last two years, TCL's multi-dimensional strategies in display technology, marketing, and product planning have positioned it as Hisense's most formidable rival, even prompting Hisense to adopt a more humble stance and learn from TCL's product strategies and market tactics.

Ultimately, this has directly shaped the current 'duel of titans' in China's color TV industry, characterized by two main competitive dynamics. First, market competition primarily unfolds between Hisense and TCL. High-end players like Sony and Samsung, as well as mid-to-low-end brands like Xiaomi, Skyworth, Sharp, and Philips, can no longer launch large-scale product or marketing campaigns, thus losing their market influence. Second, the showdown between TCL and Hisense is intensifying, with their direct clashes and market collisions accelerating the squeeze and elimination of other peers and brands in top-tier markets. Samsung TV's exit from the Chinese market is the most vivid proof, and Sony TV may soon face a new strategic turning point.

Especially amid declining shipment volumes in China's color TV market, the current head-to-head confrontation between Hisense and TCL, both in China and globally, will continue to shape the industry's landscape, trends, and direction in the coming years.

Challenge 1: The Inevitable Decline in Color TV Demand

In 2025, China's color TV market retail volume reached only 27.63 million units, a new low in the past decade. Since 2026, shipment volumes have continued to decline, with mainstream users' demand for color TVs plummeting. This trend is not confined to China; even in overseas markets where many Chinese color TV companies are actively competing, shipment volumes have stagnated. This implies that TCL and Hisense's shipment growth does not stem from external market demand but from internal competition and market reshuffling, which creates new market space.

Consequently, brands like Skyworth, Xiaomi, Changhong, Konka, as well as Sony, Sharp, and Philips, will inevitably face renewed pressure and upheaval in the market. This also means that in the contest between Hisense and TCL, the two companies are, through sustained competition, jointly conducting a deep cleansing of their peers. Only by continuously clearing and squeezing the market share of other companies can leading firms achieve their growth targets.

Challenge 2: Excessive Competition Leading to Industry Disruption

Excessive competition-induced involution and internal friction will inevitably disrupt the industry and intensify market disorder. In recent years, the competition between Hisense and TCL has reached an extremely intense state, with multi-dimensional battles in display technology, large screens, high-end positioning, and scenario-based marketing. Hisense holds a slight edge in high-end and technological innovation, while TCL gains the upper hand with its large-scale, low-cost approach driven by a full-industry-chain model, resulting in a stalemate where both sides have their advantages.

Now, with TCL taking over Sony's global TV and audio business, the competitive balance has been disrupted once again. It is foreseeable that in China and globally, Sony will suppress Hisense in high-end and technological dimensions, while TCL will overtake Hisense in ultra-large screens and scale. Hisense, unwilling to be a passive target, will undoubtedly adopt 'unconventional' measures in response. In this back-and-forth tug-of-war, the market share of weaker peers will inevitably be further compressed.

Currently, the titanic clash between Hisense and TCL in the color TV industry represents not only an inevitable reshuffling in an era of market saturation but also a driving force propelling China's color TV industry towards globalization and high-end development. Ultimately, this will compel the entire industry to abandon extensive competition and establish new entry thresholds centered on technology, branding, and full-industry-chain capabilities.

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