(Yicai Global) June 8 -- About 20 internet television brands, including PPTV, have gradually dropped out of sight in the Chinese market due to increasingly heated competition between 2013 and 2023, analysts said. But established TV brands such as TCL and Hisense have found new success by embracing the smart TV trend.

“The brand landscape has been evolving,” said Zhang Hong, research director at the color TV business group with Beijing-based Sigmaintell Consulting. In the last 10 years, there was rapid growth for internet brands, particularly in the mobile internet arena. But sales in China's color TV market peaked in 2017 and they are unlikely to return to such a high level, Zhang said.

Retail sales of tablet TVs in China tallied 51 million in 2017, but that fell to 38 million last year, Zhang noted, while the sizes of standard TVs have continuously increased, with big TVs of more than 65 becoming mainstream.

Conventional TV manufacturers recognized the potential of internet services, and they have returned to a central position in the market as they have enhanced their content and software efforts, Zhang added.

Japanese and South Korean brands have shifted toward high-end products, Zhang Bing, research director at Omdia China, told Yicai Global, adding that Chinese brands such as TCL and Hisense have a large share of the global market for mid-range color TVs. The European and US markets are fundamental, he said.

Some struggling domestic brands such as internet TV pioneer Leshi, as well as international brands are having their space in the Chinese market squeezed by the leading companies, said Dong Min, deputy secretary general at the China Video Industry Association.

Sigmaintell said it expects deliveries of Hisense-branded TVs to reach 8.7 million sets this year, with market share rising to 22 percent. The top four TV brands, namely Hisense, TCL, Xiaomi and Skyworth, are expected to have 75 percent of the domestic market.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Tom Litting