Thanks to plummeting retail prices on televisions, it’s possible to walk out of a store with a 55-inch or 65-inch display these days. Smart TVs from manufacturers now offer good quality products at affordable price points. In recent times many new brands as well as Mobile brands also entered in this space and offering a wide range of options for consumers in the affordable segment. Lately, matching the current trends, the movie industry also has started releasing their content on these OTT apps pushing the momentum further.
Higher Traction of Smart TV in India
According to Madhav Sheth – Vice President, realme and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, realme India & Europe, the TV market, especially the smart TV market, has grown exponentially over the last few years. Increased broadband penetration, streaming of OTT content and the desire for an immersive viewing experience has led brands to introduce feature-rich smart TVs to the consumer at affordable prices. The demand has further increased in the last seven months as everyone has been at home, and families want more than one or two TVs in their homes so that everyone can consume content on a larger screen.
” Definitely, Smart TVs are in high demand, owing to the mobile internet penetration in household and tier 3 and 4 markets , growing OTT entertainment apps , WFH, school from home and many other such cases have led to the smart TV consumption increase,” asserts, Mike Chen, General Manager, TCL India.
Arjun Bajaj, CEO and founder of Daiwa TV said, “ In today’s times, Content has become the king. Smart TV too is gaining traction due to a lot of content being made available by OTT apps such as Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Prime Video and many more, topped with the pandemic induced lockdown. Being the only form of entertainment, with the varied options and customization, people have soon realized the importance of having a smart TV at home during this lockdown. Lately, matching the current trends, the movie industry also has started releasing their content on these OTT apps pushing the momentum further.
Key reason of entering of many brands in this space
According to Mr. Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TRANSSION India The demand for Smart TVs has stepped up rapidly in the last couple of years. However, even until a few years ago, it used to be too expensive for most middle-class households in India and for the mass segment, it was just a dream. The growth in demand for smart TVs is fueled by the novel product offerings that come equipped with technologically advanced features at an affordable price point. The smart TV segment is growing at a rate of 25% in India which is being pushed by urbanization and digitization. The increasing number of Smartphone users in India is augmenting the need for Smart TVs as users are getting habituated to consume streaming content on a bigger screen when they are at home. As per the counterpoint report, huge broadband penetration in Indian homes is further driving the demand for Smart TV.
“itel recently launched the magical range of Televisions in India, targeting the aspirers and millennials from tier 3 and below markets who are vying for a lifestyle upgrade at a budget-friendly price. Aligned with the singular objective of democratizing technology, for the masses, itel TVs are technologically advanced entertainment solutions, to redefine the viewing experience and entertainment needs of its customers, taking the magic of technology to every home. Made in India, itel TV portfolio is available across different screen sizes of 32-inch to 55-inch at an affordable price range from Rs. 8999 to Rs. 34,499.”
“Indian market is big and has huge potential market with the population of 140+ crore and TV market close to 1.3 to 1.4 crore, every brand in today’s scenario will focus on Indian market,” said, Mike Chen, General Manager, TCL India.
“The last few years have been a game changer as there has been an increase in the consumption of OTT content across the country. With data charges being affordable coupled with fast speed, millennials have started using multiple apps like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. to stream the latest content. Over the past few months, especially with everyone being at home, this phenomenon has seen an exponential rise. Therefore a Smart TV has now become an essential part of the home ecosystem with most households going for their second or third TV to cater to the different viewing preferences of family members. Keeping this in mind, we have introduced more innovative products in this segment with borderless design, easy to use smart TV interface and advanced technologies like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos that help in creating a truly cinematic audio visual experience.
Our focus is on addressing value premium customers who are looking for quality products. We have noticed a higher demand for large screen sizes like 50 and 58 inches as the average consumer is looking for an upgrade to enhance her viewing experience. With the festive season around the corner, Philips 6600 Borderless Smart TV series is the perfect option to add to the festive cheer and celebrate with your loved ones at home. With multiple factors such as pent up demand, entry of new OTT platforms and festive season offers, we expect at least 20% more sales in the television segment this year over the last year” – Shailesh Prabhu, Country Head, TPV Technology India Pvt. Ltd.
“Yes, lot of Smartphone brands have entered this category, as it’s just an extension for many of them. They already have the knowledge on the supply chain and the expertise hence becomes easier to enter the Smart Tv space too. Lastly, a huge population still owns a CRT TV hence brands are eyeing this promising market, being one of the biggest opportunities,” said, Arjun Bajaj, CEO and founder of Daiwa.
“There are multiple reasons due to which the Smart TV market in India has grown multifold in the past few years. Consumers now demand immersive audio and visual experience and wish to consume content on a larger screen with their families. This has led to multiple brands to introduce feature-rich smart TVs to the consumer at affordable prices in the entry-level segment (below INR 20,000) and mid-level segment (below INR 40,000). According to Counterpoint Research, shipments of TVs in India grew 15% annually to reach the highest-ever 15 million units in 2019, and the growth was mainly driven by budget smart TVs, with 32-inches TVs the leading segment. This shows that there is a demand for affordable, premium quality smart TVs with class-leading technology and features,” said, Madhav Sheth – Vice President, realme and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, realme India & Europe.
Popularity of Screen size in recent times
“The most popular and ideal screen size for smart TVs are 32 inches and 43 inches. These TVs are packed with industry-leading features and provide a riveting viewing experience to the consumers. Also, viewers these days consume a large amount of OTT content on their Smart TVs, and a major portion of this content is available in FHD quality, which can most thoroughly be enjoyed only on a smart TV with a screen size of 43 inches. We launched the realme Smart TV – 32 inches and 43 inches – five months ago, and sold 15k+ units in less than 10 mins (Flipkart and Website). This is the fastest sale ever in the TV Category on Flipkart and highlights the popularity of these screen sizes,” said, Madhav Sheth – Vice President, realme and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, realme India & Europe, the TV market.
“50 and 55 inches, it’s a good size when it comes to enjoy time with family without taking much space for the TV installation, “ said, Mike Chen, General Manager, TCL India.
“Undoubtedly, Smart TV has become the new trend today because of its easy usage,
customization and high entertainment value. The 32” has been the dominating one because
of its extensive and affordable price range. Today, a 32” smart TV is available at the price of
smart phones. Having said that, in this lockdown we have also seen a rise in demand for the
43inch and 55inch TVs as well.TV is no longer a luxury,” said, Arjun Bajaj, CEO and founder of Daiwa TV .
Market Projection
According to Mike Chen, General Manager, TCL India, said, “With the change in lifestyle of consumer due to pandemic, OTT , WFH,SFH and spending time inside home has increased and TV being the center of entertainment, the demand is escalating and has positive impact towards festive season and year end sales.
“The demand for the TVs throughout the lockdown period has been good, in fact demand post lockdown has increased even more as people have realized the importance of the Big screen at home. The next few quarters overall will definitely prove to be profitable for the TV industry, however, the rising prices and shortage of Open Cell from suppliers is a concern as the demand shall keep increasing each day with festive season being around the corner, and we need enough supply to match the demand, said. Arjun Bajaj, CEO and founder of Daiwa TV.
“The market will slowly open up post Unlock 5.0 and we will see more sales of smart TV in months to come. Our first realme TV products the realme smart TV 32-inches and 43-inches became instant superstars in the Indian TV market as we brought the smart TV experience with leading visual and audio effects to every user through the device and we have achieved great heights. In our first sale we sold 15k+ units in less than 10 mins (Flipkart and Website). This was the fastest sale ever in TV Category on Flipkart Even our recently launched realme 55-inch Smart TV – World’s first 4K SLED smart TV has seen a very good response during the BBD sales and we are the No.1 smart TV brand on Flipkart,” said, Madhav Sheth – Vice President, realme and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, realme India & Europe, the TV market.
Best products of this festive season
“ We have an extensive line of Products for the Festive Season. The best we have are the 32inch, 43inch and 49inch TVs. All the 3 TVs are smart TV. The D43QUHS and D50BT216 comes with Android 9.0 and D32S7B, D43QFS comes with Android 8.0. All the TVs come with Quantum Luminit Technology that gives the viewers an immersive experience. Moreover, the TV comes with its own customized UI along with 1700000 plus hours of content to choose from. Matching the visual experience, is the powerful speaker pumping crystal clear sound supporting the Dbx Technology. The televisions also comes with more internal storage and RAM features,” said, Arjun Bajaj, CEO and founder of Daiwa TV.
“This festive season is humongous and, latest technology of TCL products are leading from the front. TCL QLED TV comes with handsfree voice control, Quantum Dot technology for pictures, with integrated sound bar provides a theatre like experience. This Diwali, we make sure that our customers are gratified more than they expect – TCL 4K QLED C715 series and C815 series 50 inches to 75 inches with price range starting at 45,990 is the best product line and best offer price for customers this festive,” said, Mike Chen, General Manager, TCL India.
“We will continue to strengthen our position with new offerings in the future, with the launch of at least 5 new smart TVs catering to demand and budget of different consumers in 2021.
Best products of this festive season, brand can mention about their leading product. We have recently introduced the realme Smart TV SLED 4K (55”) along with a wide range of smartphones and tech-lifestyle products in the audio and wearables segment. The realme Buds Air Pro, realme Buds Wireless Pro, realme N1 Sonic Electric toothbrush, realme narzo 20 series and realme 7 series can make for a perfect Diwali gift for your loved ones. In fact, we sold 1,30,000+ narzo 20 units in the first sale, and more than 1,80,000 realme 7 units in the first sale. Apart from that, our redefined realme C series which consists of realme C11, realme C12 and realme C15 has also seen a massive demand among users,” said, Madhav Sheth – Vice President, realme and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, realme India & Europe, the TV market.
Future Innovations
“We have been working on multiple AIoT products around ‘Personal, Home, and Travel’ segments including trimmer, etc which you will come to know in the upcoming months. We will continue to strengthen our position with new offerings in the future, with the launch of at least 5 new smart TVs catering to the demand and budget of different consumers in 2021,” said, Madhav Sheth – Vice President, realme and Chief Executive Officer, realme India & Europe, the TV market.
“Technology an evolving industry. We can see everyday something new coming up with the launch of every TV. Overall, smart TV’s are improving with every model being launched, and are made available at affordable prices. Back in the old days we had the big box.Consumers have plenty of options to choose from. TV has become the need of the hour at every home. Also, Smart TV’s are making lives of people much easier with AI and Voice Assistant features. The consumers are also provided with options like FHD, 4K, OLED & QLED to choose from at the most affordable rates,” said, Arjun Bajaj, CEO and founder of Daiwa TV.
