Since the early 2000s, the television manufacturing industry has transformed dramatically. In the past, companies oversaw the entire process, from design to production. Today, however, increased competition and globalization have reshaped the landscape. Most manufacturers now concentrate on concept development and cloud-based services, while the actual production is highly fragmented and often outsourced. No single company manages the full production cycle anymore. For instance, Vizio, a leading American brand, operates entirely through third-party manufacturers rather than owning its own factories, while some other brands have even chosen to sell their brand names outright.
Transition to licensing and assembly
Many companies have stopped manufacturing their own televisions, preferring instead to license or assemble televisions under their own brands externally. This shift was driven by the rise of display technology leaders such as LG and Samsung, which surpassed Japanese brands such as Sharp in the early 2010s. As a result, major companies including Sharp, Toshiba, and Philips exited the market, and Sony followed suit in 2026, licensing its brands to other companies.
Since the advent of Smart TV in 2015, many operating systems have appeared on the market, but by 2026, only a few platforms dominate: Android TV, Tizen, WebOS, and Roku TV OS. Vizio’s Smartcast system lost popularity, unable to compete with these leading systems.
The current situation in TV manufacturing
Today, the production of LED panels has completely shifted to Chinese companies, and only Samsung and LG continue to produce OLED displays. Many well-known brands, including Sharp, Toshiba, Philips, Grundig, Sony, and Fire TV, are now manufactured exclusively through outsourcing, most often by Hisense, TPV, or TCL.
LG and Samsung remain the only companies with significant in-house production, although even they do not manufacture all models themselves.
Overall, the TV market is experiencing a decline, which is quite predictable given the lack of truly new features that would convince users to replace their 5-6-year-old TVs. Modern advertising tends to focus on improved backlighting, artificial intelligence, or minor improvements that are not particularly revolutionary.
Choosing a new TV
It can be difficult to determine which brand is the best, as each brand has both strong and weak models. Budget TVs, which are often sold at fairly low prices, tend to be mediocre, regardless of the manufacturer. Premium models that do not require cost-cutting tend to perform well across all brands. LG and Samsung stand out for their continued active development of their TVs, while Chinese companies such as Hisense are actively acquiring technology to improve the quality of their TVs.
