The photo provided by Samsung Display Co. on Jan. 5, 2022, shows its QD display panels on display at Encore At Wynn in Las Vegas.
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Rumors are swirling about the alliance between Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest TV maker by sales, and LG Display Co., a major display panel maker in South Korea.
The two companies are currently engaged in negotiations over the supply of OLED panels for use in TVs, according to industry sources.
“It appears that there is no visible progress in the negotiations. It’s too early to comment on the results of the process,” an industry official familiar with the matter said.
Some analysts noted that the background behind constant rumors about the alliance between Samsung and LG Display, despite the fact that they have competed fiercely against each other in the TV market, is that the interests of the two companies coincide.
Samsung recently released QD OLED TVs in the North American and European markets, marking a re-entry into the OLED TV market after a nine-year absence.
Prior to this, Samsung Display Co., a display maker under Samsung Electronics, kick-started mass production of large QD OLED panels from late last year.
However, its output is only enough to support the production of 1 million TVs on an annual basis, causing concerns about the shortage of supply.
This is the primary reason why Samsung Electronics has not released a QD-OLED TV in the domestic market.
“Samsung Electronics needs to secure diverse supply sources. However, it feels a burden since LG Display is virtually the only one that produces OLED panels,” an industry insider said.
Even if the two companies form an alliance, the release of Samsung TVs mounted with LG OLED panels would become possible next year at the earliest since it requires a new product development effort.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
