Experts comment on the competition for super TVs: LeTV competes openly with Konka and secretly with Tencent

On March 18, the Internet smart TV "T60 Super TV" jointly created by color TV giant Konka, GITV and Tencent was launched, and the official Weibo account of Internet company LeTV TV released three pictures to criticize it: No matter how similar it is, it is not super enough. If you can't look forward, then turn back! Konka TV's official Weibo account immediately responded: Turn back, please look further! Look forward, please stand higher! The verbal battle between the two sides also triggered heated discussions among netizens, and "the war of words is about to break out."

It is understood that LeTV launched Super TV on September 19, 2012. Relying on the vertical integration model of the complete industrial chain of "platform + content + terminal + application", with the strategy of hardware cost pricing and channelization, it quickly opened a gap in the seemingly solid color TV market. In 2014, LeTV Super TV sales exceeded 1.5 million units, completing the annual sales target one month ahead of schedule; the sales target for Super TV in 2015 is 3 million to 4 million units, and its "super" performance is amazing. Konka, a veteran color TV company, has been making TVs for 35 years. In 2001, it released Super TV, which features hardware upgrades. This time, it has joined hands with giants such as Tencent to create an Internet smart TV with "extremely simple control and powerful content", achieving a major upgrade of the integration of software and hardware. It is reasonable to label it as "Super TV". Behind this is Konka's transformation from a product company to a platform company, looking for partners in professional fields such as games, advertising, shopping, and health video content, and focusing on building China's first smart TV Internet operation platform.

The term "super TV" can be used by everyone and is not exclusive. The reason why it has become a trigger for conflicts between color TV companies and Internet companies is due to many factors such as industry development trends, competition among giants, and event marketing.

Under the sweeping tide of the Internet, the development of smart home appliances is in the ascendant. Smart home appliances are becoming the next hot spot of Internet+, and the scale of the smart home industry is expected to reach trillions. As a home entertainment terminal and information sharing terminal, smart TVs have prominent strategic value. Whether it is the landing of Internet companies or the upgrading of traditional color TV companies, they are a must-fight place. With so many companies gathering together, it is normal for Konka and LeTV, and even the color TV and Internet industries, to have some collisions and frictions.

Liu Chuang, vice president of Aowei Cloud Network, believes that the reason why super TV is super is not because of how advanced the hardware is, but the key lies in the content. It is estimated that the current domestic smart TV hardware market size is 150 billion to 170 billion yuan per year, and the market size of smart TV content applications will be about 300 billion to 350 billion yuan in two or three years. With the domestic relevant policy environment becoming stable, color TV manufacturers accelerating upgrades, and consumer demand becoming clearer, Internet giants such as Tencent are entering the TV end in an orderly manner. What really makes LeTV nervous this time is not the super TV hardware launched by Konka, but the rich content and huge stock users provided by its partner Tencent. Compared with LeTV's main video content, Tencent has a full range of content and applications such as video, games, and social networking. Tencent and Konka's layout of the TV end will greatly enhance the two-way interaction and high-viscosity applications of smart TV users, so Konka's version of super TV may pose a threat to LeTV's super TV. This trend cannot but arouse LeTV's vigilance.

Of course, there is still a lot of room for the development of smart TVs, and the market is far from being saturated. At present, the "fight" between Konka and LeTV over super TVs is more about posture. Both sides are skilled in using Internet event marketing to attract the public's attention and further hype up super TVs, which will promote the development of the smart TV market and super TV marketing. Even if it is defined as a market "hype", it is not without positive significance for the development of the industry.

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.