New TV Brands Making Inroads into The Kenyan TV Market

For a long time, the Kenyan TV market has been dominated by Sony, Samsung and LG which have since been christened traditional TV brands. Though other TV brands like Panasonic JVC and Armco have been around, they in no way posed any challenge to the 3 main TV brands in Kenya.

With only 55 percent of Kenyan households having TV, the TV industry in Kenya is still in its growth phase. However, the main reason for the low uptake of TV by most Kenyans as cost implication. This has been further compounded by the digital migration that has changed Kenya into a pay-TV country.

A report by the Fintech, a consumer electronics research company has revealed that new TV brands like Hisense and TCL are overtaking the 3 main traditional brands in Kenya. According to their survey, Hisense is the 2nd most sold TV brand in Kenya after Samsung.

Further, the survey uncovered a growing confidence among Kenyan consumers in TCL and Hisense TVs.

The main reason for growing confidence in both Hisense and TCL TVs in Kenya is not only are they pocket-friendly, but they have great picture quality and come with high-end features found in LG, Samsung and Sony TVs. They are also digital TVs, meaning they come with inbuilt decoders that allow anyone to view free to air channels without the need of buying for a decoder or paying monthly subscriptions.

Both Hisense and TCL are Chinese TV brands that seek to dominate the global TV market with quality but affordable TVs. LG and Samsung are from South Korea while Sony is a Japanese brand.

Does this mean the end of the dominance of LG, Sony, and Samsung in the Kenya TV industry? Only time will tell.