Global TV shipments rise 6% ahead of World Cup

 
Global TV shipments rose 6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, reaching 50.3 million units as retailers stocked up for the upcoming World Cup, according to new research from Omdia.

North America and developing economies largely drove the growth. Asia & Oceania saw a 13% increase, while Latin America followed closely with 12% growth. Analysts noted that Chinese vendors redirected shipments into these regions to offset continued weak demand in mainland China.

North America posted an 11% increase in shipments, a notable result for a saturated market. Omdia attributes this to aggressive retail promotions in the U.S., a co-host of this year’s World Cup.

Specifically, retailers such as Walmart are prioritising the expansion of operating systems, such as Vizio OS, to drive advertising revenue rather than relying on hardware profits.

This shift toward advertising-based profit models has kept consumer prices stable, even as memory costs for other electronics have risen. “Globally, TV prices have also remained surprisingly stable, despite headline-grabbing increases in memory price,” the report noted.

The quarter also saw the introduction of RGB LED TVs, a premium technology expected to compete with OLED. While initial shipments were modest at 39,400 units, volume is expected to grow as more brands adopt the technology.

“The Chinese market leads the adoption of RGB LED TVs, but this is primarily due to the early introduction of models from TCL and Hisense,” said Matthew Rubin, Research Manager at Omdia.

“With many more models being introduced ahead of the World Cup, shipment volume of this technology is expected to accelerate rapidly.”

While most regions flourished, mainland China remained the outlier, facing sluggish domestic demand following the expiration of 2025 stimulus measures. Omdia expects global momentum to continue as World Cup marketing intensifies throughout the year.

Omdia’s latest TV Sets (Emerging Technologies) Market Tracker: History – 1Q26