The color TV industry is still the same and there is no story to tell

The color TV market in the first half of 2016 (this article has no strict boundaries) can be summarized as "still the same old situation": price wars continue, verbal wars are still brewing, the new and old camps are further integrated, and there is no clear progress in the display technology competition. What else can be said?

Price war triggers war of words

First, let's take a look at how far the price war in the color TV industry has progressed. Probably nothing can be more favorable than "free".

In April, LeTV launched a "free hardware" strategy. Although the industry scoffed at this "dirty move" of "killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of your own", the public who did not know the truth still fell into the trap of "spending three hundred and getting three hundred for free, which is equivalent to giving away three hundred, which is equivalent to giving away nothing". Moreover, many consumers were willing to fall into it even though they knew it was a trap.

LeTV's "disorderly behavior" has unsurprisingly triggered a series of verbal battles. The first to respond was Wang Chuan, head of Xiaomi TV , a competitor of the Internet TV , who criticized LeTV for offering free hardware to clear out inventory, saying that he "absolutely disagrees with the practice of using TV hardware as a mere channel for content while ignoring the value of the hardware."

As a veteran in the color TV industry, Hisense's attitude towards "free hardware" has also attracted attention. Liu Hongxin, chairman of Hisense Group, also made it clear in an interview that "I don't think free hardware is a model for the development of the industry." Another traditional color TV giant, Skyworth, chose to "fight barbarians with barbarians" and played the "free content" card. Liu Tangzhi of Skyworth Group made no secret of the fact that "products that win with ultra-low prices will inevitably be greatly discounted in all aspects of manufacturing."

However, the war of words triggered by the free hardware is not over yet. On May 17, Jia Yueting announced on Weibo: " LeTV TV's monthly sales (April) ranked first in the industry and all channels, setting a new record." As soon as the news came out, Hisense could no longer remain calm. The next day, Hisense released a monitoring report stating that in April 2016, Hisense's all-channel retail volume share was 14.68%, and its retail sales share was 15.55%. Hisense continued to maintain the "first" for a single month and cumulatively.

LeTV TV's sales performance in April was largely contributed by the "414 Hardware Free Day". Although "No. 1 in sales across the industry and channels" is a processed result, LeTV TV's No. 1 online share cannot be denied. Zhang Bing, research director of IHS China, believes that in the domestic color TV market in 2016, LeTV TV's sales ranking is expected to be "fourth and third".

Ambition is emerging and integration is intensifying

LeEco previously claimed that "LeEco TV sales in 2017 will be the highest in the industry", which may have been considered a joke in the past, but now it seems that LeEco may not be bragging. After announcing its investment in TCL Multimedia to become its second largest shareholder at the end of last year, LeEco announced at the end of July this year that it would acquire the US TV manufacturer Vizio for US$2 billion. LeEco's ambition to expand in the TV field is becoming clearer and its threat to other brands is also escalating.

LeEco and TCL have reached an agreement to seek common development, becoming a model for the integration of the old and new camps in the TV industry. On May 11, the strategic cooperation agreement between the two parties was completed. Prior to this, the Internet TV company Weijing participated in the subscription of Konka's non-public offering of A shares. Weijing invested 450 million yuan and became Konka's fifth largest shareholder with a 3.14% shareholding ratio.

Behind the further integration of the old and new camps is the continued fierce competition between Internet TV brands and traditional color TV brands. According to data from AVC, in the first half of 2016, the market share of domestic traditional brands was 75%, down 3.8% from last year, while Internet brands increased by 7.9%, with a market share of 16%.

At present, there are 18 Internet TV brands, and the market size has also grown significantly. More and more people have seen the opportunities of Internet TV. In the first half of this year, Hisense launched the high-end Internet TV sub-brand "VIDAA". In addition to using the latest technology to present a perfect large-screen audio-visual experience, VIDAA has also reached strategic cooperation with video platforms such as Wasu, iQiyi , and Tencent Video to ensure its content advantage. Changhong and Tencent Penguin TV also announced cooperation, and the two sides will also conduct in-depth cooperation in smart TV content operations.

In addition to color TV manufacturers, channel dealers are also increasingly keen to participate in the feast of Internet TV. After teaming up with Haier and Fengxing to create the first Internet TV, Gome Electrical Appliances announced on August 8 that it will reach a strategic cooperation with Skyworth and Mango TV to jointly develop Internet TV business, and once again try to build an Internet TV closed-loop industry chain covering "content + license + terminal + channel + operation".

The technology battle is hard to decide

In the context of the overall market downturn, high-end products are another breakthrough besides Internet TV. In the first half of the year, both the domestic and international markets were in an awkward situation of increasing volume but not revenue, and color TV manufacturers all hope to seek profit breakthroughs in high-end products through technological innovation.

During the wave of new product launches in March, there was a huge wave of poster copywriting competition, reflecting the respective focus of different brands.

Xiaomi's poster copy "Only when it is curved and thin is cool enough" revealed that its new product's ultra-thin and curved hardware selling points; then Hisense quickly responded "Mi, Uncle Xin has been cool for three years, just curved is not enough, no U is not happy", emphasizing the advantages of its independently innovative ULED technology; Skyworth and its Coocaa brand also issued copy saying "Don't be superstitious about curves, don't believe in U", "Don't be superstitious about curves and thinness, those without O are hooligans", highlighting their own OLED display technology; Changhong also issued copy saying: "Don't be superstitious about curves, don't believe in thinness, don't talk about O, only when the picture quality is solid enough can it be cool".

As early as last year, the camps of display technology were already so clear: Skyworth, Konka, and Changhong stood on OLED, TCL focused on quantum dots, and Hisense bet on laser projection. Judging from this year's actions, the five major color TV manufacturers basically continued this technology route, but no one dared to bet everything on it. At present, the era of LCD is not over yet, quantum dots and HDR are extending the life cycle of LCD TVs , OLED does not have a crushing advantage, and there is still great resistance to its promotion and popularization, while laser cinema has opened up another differentiated battlefield.

There are too many variables in the innovation of display technology. Only by walking on multiple legs can we avoid losing everything: Hisense currently uses OLED in the commercial market; TCL has also tried to make laser TVs in a low-key manner, while conducting research on OLED display materials; even LG, which has a heavy stake in OLED display technology, has released a number of quantum dot TV products this year. As the color TV industry is about to usher in an upgrade, the display technology presents a competitive atmosphere of flourishing.

The color TV market in the first half of the year continued the style of 2015 of "comparing low prices, competing in content, vying for large screens, and competing in technology". There is no smoke of war but undercurrents are surging. We look forward to good stories to be told in the second half of the year.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.