South Korea’s tech giants Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are striving to expand their businesses and tap into the lucrative advertising revenue generated by smart TV platform operations.

According to industry sources on Tuesday, Samsung’s smart TVs, which utilize the Tizen operating system, surpassed a cumulative connection of 250 million units in the first quarter of this year. The term cumulative connection refers to the number of devices connected to the internet. Tizen OS is an open-source operating system based on Linux and all Samsung Smart TVs come equipped with it.

LG is also strengthening its TV platform business. At the end of last year, cumulative sales of its smart TVs with the Web OS platform reached 180 million units. With annual sales volume averaging around 30 million units, market analysts predict that the cumulative sales of LG smart TVs will exceed 200 million units this year. Web OS supports around 2,500 applications, including Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and remote healthcare. It is a Linux-based operating system owned by LG and used in their smart TVs.

As the market for smart TVs continues to solidify, the platform segment is experiencing fast growth. According to market research firm Omdia, smart TVs accounted for a staggering 92 percent of total TV shipments in the first quarter of this year, representing a 2.9 percentage point increase compared with a year earlier. This milestone signifies the first time that smart TV shipments have surpassed the 90 percent threshold in the global TV market.

Samsung’s Tizen OS captured a market share of 21.8 percent, while LG’s Web OS secured a 12.4 percent. Claiming the top spot, Android OS dominated the market with a commanding 42.4 percent share in the quarter.

The rationale behind Samsung and LG’s unwavering commitment to their unique platform strategies lies in the increasingly level playing field in terms of TV technology and performance. With such similarities, both companies recognize that the key to capturing consumer attention lies in enhancing the user interface and delivering compelling content.

By cultivating familiarity with their proprietary OS platforms, they aim to create a powerful lock-in effect that encourages customers to consistently choose their brand when purchasing new TVs. Moreover, the surge in demand for over-the-top (OTT) content following the Covid-19 pandemic has further fueled the competition among consumer electronics companies to deliver superior content offerings.

Embracing platform strategies has become a vital avenue for consumer electronics companies to break free from the stagnant TV market. Rather than directly integrating popular OTT services like Netflix and Wavve into their platforms,

Samsung and LG receive an entry fee from these companies in exchange for including Netflix, Wavve and other OTTs on their platforms. Samsung and LG are also expanding their ecosystem by selling their platforms to TV manufacturers around the world.

By Lee Sae-ha and Minu Kim

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