Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Roundtable.
Chinese young people are buying televisions.
Sound a bit wild, right?
But there's more to this than meets the eye.
Come find out with us.
And feeling those Monday blues, not a motivational Monday.
Tune in our special segment for a boost that will have you saying, bring it on, weak.
Coming to you live from Beijing, this is Roundtable.
I'm He Yang. For today's program, I'm joined by Steve Hatherley and Yuxian in the studio, first on today's show.
With all the cord cutting and streaming options available, you'd think the humble television set should be on its way out, right?
But recent data tells a different story in China.
While TV sales volumes slightly dropped in 2024, revenue soared by 8%.
Meanwhile, projectors are seeing a decline across the board.
So, tell us what kind of televisions are selling like hotcakes these days.
Yes, He Yang. Latest data from Technological Industry Research Institute, Runtao, showed that the retail sales revenues of televisions rose by 8 % year on year to reach 24 .8 billion yuan, or 3 .5 billion US dollars.
And what's more, previous statistics from Chinese news outlets once showed that the average screen size of televisions rose gradually from 44 .4 inches in 2015 to 54 .4 inches in 2021 in China.
But guess what? Nowadays, big -sized televisions saw significantly an increase in sales, as some data from Runtao also revealed that 75 -inch TVs have replaced 64 -inch TVs to be the TV screen size with the highest retail sales volume of 20 .8 % in the third quarter of 2024.
So, in fact, I see 75 -inch TV sets to be like a dividing ridge in the demographic as well, because when we look at the online sales, data from a Beijing -based market consultancy pointed out that as the average price labeled online for the 75 -inch and bigger -sized TV were lowered this September than this time last
year, their sales revenues actually rose compared to it a year ago.
And on the contrary, TV sets smaller than 75 -inch.
So while the 65 -inch and 70 -inch TVs, they see like a drop in online sales revenues compared to last autumn as well.
So definitely bigger screen TV sets are becoming popular, especially among young people.
Mm, 75 is the new 65.
And what I mean by that is the 65 -inch TV, maybe 10 years ago, that used to be the OMG TV screen.
If you had a 65 -inch television in your house, that was like the gold standard, but not anymore.
Now, 75 -inch and maybe even up to 85 -inch, that's becoming the new kind of benchmark for a big screen TV.
I had a 75 -inch television.
I don't have it here in China.
I had to sell it. Oh my gosh, that broke my heart that day that I had to let it go, because, you know, you can't move a TV.
You can't put that on the airplane when you're coming over from Korea.
But yeah, having a 75 -inch TV screen in your home, and when I was shopping for it online and I was shopping in stores, the stores seemed to have more large screen televisions on display at that time than they did smaller screens, you know, 40 -inch, 50 -inch, those types of screens.
And that told me at that time, and that was about four or five years ago, that these bigger screens are becoming the norm these days.
So perfect reason and opportunity to switch to a new TV.
And also, after listening to today's discussion, you will realize how affordable it's become.
I was already looking on the apps, actually, because we just had the big sales event here, and I think it might be still going on, right?
So I was looking, but I don't know which brands are the better brands, and I don't know exactly what prices I should be looking for.
So I was going to ask for some help.
So yeah, today's talk will be helpful for me.
Yes, I think so. And it seems like so much discussion has been surrounding the big and also, may I just say, flat screen TV.
Because sometimes I feel like on round table, I live in the Middle Ages or whatnot.
When I checked out all these different models that we're going to go through, they're all super thin, super big, super flat, and that seems to be the go -to for people these days.
And apparently, this time around, it's young people that apparently are shoring up the market for big flat screen TVs.
And this has become sort of that very welcome injection of hope for TV manufacturing right now.
Yeah, and what seems so interesting to me is that a lot of these young people, they're rushing onto websites, such as Billy Billy, to discuss about it.
Because I always remember the Chinese video sharing website.
Billy Billy is just somewhere you get fun, short or long videos posted for people, the young people, to just roam around.
But apparently lately, the term TV becomes the number one keyword searched on Billy Billy the website and also with nearly 100 % increase in audience viewing in videos under such titles in 2024 compared to that last year.
And also, keywords such as big screen and ultra big screen are attracting a lot of attentions there as well.
So, I don't know, young people nowadays, they are going online, even when they're not buying it, they're going online to platforms such as Billy Billy to watch other people testing it out or what are the biggest trends nowadays.
And also, can we go a little bit further into the facts?
Apparently, it's not just any young people because also, can I just say that buying a TV or refrigerator or a lot of this home appliances or the slightly larger items in the house, actually because they're durable goods.
You're not going to switch them every season, every other week.
And what are the moments that trigger young people to shell out for a big TV?
Gaming, I think, is a big deal.
You know, if you go online or if you go into an electronic shop these days, TVs will often advertise or the companies selling the TVs will often advertise.
This TV is great for gaming.
So, I think that's one reason.
Another reason would probably be perhaps getting married and going into a new home.
We know that when you enter into your new home with your new relationship, then you like to have new stuff.
And I think TVs is on that list of things that people like to buy.
Yeah. I was just reading about this story that's reported on news platform 36Q.
So, this girl, I'm not sure if it's a girl or a boy, but this customer of a TV set whose name is Chen, he's born in the year 2000.
And this guy decided to replace his projector.
So, that's something that's really trendy in previous years, if not earlier this year, that young people tend to get projectors in their home and replace the TV with projectors.
But this guy, he decided to replace his projector with a 75 inch 4K ultra high definition multifunctional TV.
And the big reason for that is it's better for socializing because he's got this habit of inviting friends over in his home.
Oh, right. And projectors, while turned on, requires you to just draw the curtains and everything turned black so that it has a better definition on the wall or wherever you're projecting the images.
But for them, it's like when the room is darkened, it feels like everybody is quiet down.
Yeah. I was reading a little bit about that.
Projectors versus televisions.
And what the industry is saying about that is that when TVs were maybe back 10 years ago, when, like I said, the 65 inch TV was the big deal at the time, then you had projectors that could put an image onto a wall of maybe 100 or 120 inches.
So those are two completely different products because what you're getting for entertainment and how you're receiving that is just too different.
But now with TVs getting bigger, now we're getting into, we talked about 75 inch, but they go bigger than that.
Now we're getting into the 100 inch screens and now the lines are crossing where you're getting projectors that are basically the same size as television screens or TVs that can be as big as projectors.
Projected screens. That's one of the reasons.
And the other reason is because of what you just mentioned, Yushan, where you have to close the curtains, make the room dark.
You have to have the right wall to project onto.
I had a projector before and it was just, it was good.
It was just kind of annoying in that sense that you needed to have all of these other things, all of these other conditions be perfect in order for you to get a great screen quality.
Oh, that's a good point.
So do you mean that with projectors, usually they're not as clear what's projected onto the wall as opposed to 4K high definition TV?
I think the higher end projectors, I'm not an expert on this topic.
I think the higher end projectors do have a better image quality, but I had a mid range one and it was good, but it wasn't amazing.
Right. And also the points that you both have raised just makes getting a super nice flat screen TV also at an affordable price, which we will get into so much better an option than otherwise.
You guys mentioned gaming.
Can projector enable you to game on a huge screen?
I would think no. I'm not sure if the answer is for no, for all projects of projectors, but yeah, the viewing quality and also the experience in general is probably not as good as ultra high definition TV.
Yeah, the bigger the image, the further back you have to sit from the screen.
Can I just recommend there are a couple of bars and restaurants in Beijing that offer really great projector experiences while you're doing the usual bar and restaurant stuff.
But at home, yeah, having a good TV might sound quite nice.
Actually, this is one of the comments that got the most amount of likes on one of these platforms regarding this topic.
And I just like to quote a couple of lines here.
This person said this Internet user said spent a few thousand yawn on a TV just to play a three hundred yawn game.
Black Myth. And basically he's just saying that without a big screen, it feels like I'm not doing this triple a domestic game justice.
So for gamers or a lot of people out there who do take gaming as a casual as a leisure, important leisure activity, then having a flat screen TV that can help you enjoy the experience that becomes important.
Hello. That's the reason I bought my 75 inch television when I did.
It wasn't the only reason because movies.
Movies are just amazing.
They really are. And if you get a surround sound speaker system to go along with that, you feel like you're in the theater.
And then if you do have that surround sound, your game comes out through that as well.
So the sound of the video, it just makes the experience just so, so, so much better.
Also, you mentioned socializing, right?
But could you explain to us how can a TV help you socialize?
It's like for the the occasions that I've encountered before.
Some of the people, they just enjoy inviting their friends over sitting in the same living room and enjoying playing games on the computer or rather playing now.
Or a TV show that's no longer projected on the wall but can display through a very high definition TV.
That's one way of socializing for young people nowadays.
Or movies. Yeah, movies and what's better, watch sports together.
Just enjoy a home cinema or rather with a with such a big screen against the wall and all of you just sitting down like being there as if you're watching the game in person and shouting for your favorite groups.
And you know, it's just one extra step that takes takes you to the next level of realism.
Your friends aren't coming over to watch the game on a 22 inch screen.
Exactly. But they are coming over to watch the game on a 75 or 85 or 95 or whatever inch screen.
Makes you popular among friends.
Oh, okay. I guess that's super important.
And also on a big TV you can if you're playing the game or you're competing with other folks in the same room on different gaming consoles then with on a big flex screen TV then it can let's say divide the screen up to like four and four people could be playing on different gaming consoles at the same
time. And then you're competing with each other.
And yeah, that's what I call socializing for sure.
Let's get into the cost a little bit if we could.
This is kind of an interesting example because it looks at one very specific size of television.
And this is from the United States.
This is from market research firm.
Serkana from a story from November twenty twenty four so very very recent.
Thirty eight thousand televisions of at least ninety seven inches sold between January and September of this year.
Now that's a ten fold increase from last year.
Improved tech is one of the reasons and lower prices is one of the reasons as well.
The average ninety seven inch TV went from six thousand six hundred dollars last year to three thousand one hundred dollars this year.
That's about forty eight thousand you on down to twenty two thousand you on.
So there you go. That's a very specific example of a ninety seven inch screen.
But we see there the proof is that it's half price compared to what it was last year for the same size screen.
So when we take into account that the new technology and the production the manufacturing methods as well are causing these TVs to become cheaper that it becomes even more attractive for for young consumers as an option to put in their home.
Yeah one example here in China would be like the the chain case I mentioned earlier so this young person born in two thousand.
He purchased the new seventy five inch TV with nearly five thousand and six hundred you on were roughly seven hundred and seventy four US dollars which according to him almost equals his monthly pay monthly runt that he's paying for his apartment here in Beijing.
But for him it's worth the purchase and also it's a lot drop on price comparing with similar size in previous years when Samsung released their ninety eight inch television in two thousand nineteen.
Take a guess in dollars how much that costs two thousand nineteen ninety eight inch TV from Samsung.
That's huge ninety eight.
Also I don't do dollars.
OK. Guess in you want.
I've got the one so ten thousand seven hundred and fifteen thousand.
The TV was ninety nine thousand dollars when it came out ninety nine.
Almost unbelievable right.
Now now Samsung has four different models at that size starting at four thousand dollars which is twenty eight thousand you on.
Yes those numbers are correct by the way.
And I remember in my childhood time when we moved into our current apartment so that was in 2003 I remember back then the televisions were the one of the most expensive items in your house.
It cost it costed like twenty thousand you on for a huge TV set.
That's as big as there's nothing comparable in the house anymore.
It took two grown men and a lot of extra tips for them to remove that TV from our household when we decided to get rid of it.
Fifteen years later.
But now like for art you can tell from our response buying a TV for five thousand you on that.
And that's considered pretty expensive already.
And but it's more acceptable if it's really good.
So I think our expectation for this.
The cost has really dropped a lot.
Yeah especially for young people nowadays now they're looking into the quality of maybe the elevation of quality of life when when we're talking about TV consumptions because nowadays there are so many options.
The ones with higher definitions the one with more like fresher if not sharper colors.
And then there are those with softer lights softer demonstrations and they can young people nowadays they can choose based on their own preferences.
And as long as it's within their say budgets they're willing to pay just a bit higher to get the ideal quality of TV sets they want.
And some televisions.
This is some of the new tech available.
They know what you're watching.
Meaning they don't know the movie title.
I don't mean that. But they know the TV knows if you're watching a movie versus a sporting event versus a video game or something.
And the TV will adjust to increase sharpness.
So you don't even have to do it anymore.
That's not in every model but some of the models that some of the new tech that's available.
Oh that's what my TV is doing.
I'm so annoyed by it because it gets dim when I don't want it to be dim.
That might explain because yeah we just had a I just switched it to a new model TV.
And both of you mentioned the sentiment of oh I'm getting something nice for myself or you know I'm watching my price range.
But you know I don't mind paying maybe a couple extra bucks if it's really nice.
So there's this sentiment of I deserve something better when people are shopping for quality goods and here the 75 inch flat screen TV could be it.
Do you think that you know this the psychology explanation truly holds up here.
Yeah I think so. According to Consumer Technology Association people buy a new television every seven years.
I'm sure that's different from country to country but in the United States that's what the research firm found.
So if you're only going to buy something every seven years then that's going to make it a pretty exciting event when you do buy it right.
So you feel like you want to treat yourself a little bit.
So I do think there is some psychology there.
And also during the pandemic when people weren't socializing when people were staying at home they say that that led to more interest in larger screen TVs because there was so much content being viewed.
This statistic blew my mind.
This is from Nielsen which is a ratings service in the United States.
I don't even know how to phrase this question to make to make it like a quiz question.
In 2022 so I'll just tell you in 2022 Americans watched 19 million years worth of streaming content 19 million years.
I don't know how that breaks down to minutes.
My math isn't good enough.
But here's the deal.
Everybody's streaming stuff these days right.
And the television industry has caught up.
Now it's not just your tablet or your your laptop or your desktop where you can stream content apps on smart TVs.
Now you can stream straight from there.
So the TV industry has kept up with what people want and how people consume their content.
And that's allowed them to continue to be successful as well.
That blew my mind 19 million years worth of content streamed in one year.
Well Americans do love their TV even if it's moving online or streaming.
Well I agree with you to a certain extent that this I deserve something better mindset reflects you know that shift towards well being you know self appreciation and all that good stuff.
But on the other hand I still see that consumerism and clever marketing play a role in shaping this mentality brands such as this.
I will always remember L 'Oreal's slogan because you're worth it.
When I was a teenager when I saw this it hit me so hard.
I mean this kind of sentiment it taps into the psychological sweet spot blurring the lines between self care and consumption marketing strategies often frame high quality products as a form of self love making purchases feel emotionally rewarding rather than purely transactional and getting that super
nice flat screen TV.
And also just think about this you're going to watch it every day.
You're going to game it every night after such a hard working day.
The TV manufacturing industry did not pay me a dime and I don't know why I just said that the tone energy there.
That sounded like a L 'Oreal TV commercial.
So yeah there are a lot of interesting forces at play behind us actually making that purchasing decision.
You know another reason I didn't know this another reason why flat screen TVs have gotten so much cheaper or at least remain the same price even though the screens have gotten a lot bigger.
There was an important scientific development called mother glass where now what they can do and this helps the manufacturers to cut costs is that they can have one.
So look at this computer monitor in front of us like the screen of your television.
Right. So they can cut now multiple screens out of one mother glass.
So imagine like a giant giant piece of screen and then they can cut multiple ones and make multiple TVs out of that.
That's allowed them to reduce the costs by a lot where in the past they would manufacture one screen for one television.
And nowadays we've seen another major shift in the TV manufacturing industry.
That is oh the numbers tell the story.
Domestic TV brands are doing so well.
When you look at the top sellers the top 10 sellers of TVs in this country the top eight are all domestic TV brands.
So what explains this major shift in the TV manufacturing industry.
Actually this has been going on for more than a decade now.
I mean at least for the Chinese consumers here domestic brands they turned out to be more popular this year.
Like you said Huyang and data wise there's a total of seven point eight million TV sets sold taking up about 1996.
Sorry 96 percent of the market in the third quarter of 2024 which just means that the TV sets here in China they're being produced massively and cheaper and also more popular given that the quality is better as well these days.
Yeah and abroad too you know there are some Chinese brands that are doing extremely well in the Western markets like HiSense and TCL.
Those brands are everywhere in all the electronics stores overseas.
Oh wow. From gaming to social hangouts the TV has found its way back into our lives not just as a screen but as a testament to how we live and play.
With Chinese brands delivering cutting edge features and catering to diverse needs it's clear the humble TV isn't just thriving by keeping up with what we truly want.
