[Update] LG is reportedly weighing a TV exit, and Samsung is ready to reap the rewards

Update: LG claims that this report is ‘baseless’. Which sounds accurate considering the original report is no longer available.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Sony was selling its TV business to TCL in a joint venture that would include TCL having a majority stake. Now, we’re hearing that LG might be looking to do the same thing with Hisense.

This news comes out of the Korean news outlet EBN, which is now unreachable. So it’s unclear if they’ve taken down the report or not. So take this all with a huge grain of salt.

The report claims that LG execs recently traveled to Beijing to meet with senior Hisense officials to discuss the future of LG TVs. Of course, neither company has confirmed a deal. No one will confirm or deny anything until a deal is officially made, anyway.

If LG does truly exit the TV business, this would be another major win for its local rival, Samsung. Their only real rival has been LG in the TV business, and with them out of the way, Samsung could really eat up a major chunk of the market.

LG selling off its TV business is a huge surprise

When Sony announced it was selling off its TV business to TCL, it wasn’t a huge surprise. Sony Bravia didn’t have a huge market share and was mostly overpriced compared to the competition. But LG is one of the larger players in this market. In fact, at CES, they were celebrating 13 years of being the #1 OLED TV maker.

Despite that, the most recent market share numbers put LG at 9% globally, behind Samsung, TCL, and Hisense. Though these four makers are very close in market share. With Hisense at 10%, combining with LG would make it a formidable competitor in the market.

LG has been making TVs for 60 years, having started back in 1966 as GoldStar, and launched Korea’s first black-and-white TV. And this comes just a few years after LG decided to shutter its mobile phone division.

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