Industry

VIDAA, the smart TV operating system developed by Hisense, is on track to overtake LG’s webOS in European shipments in 2025, according to new forecasts from Omdia—highlighting a significant shift in the region’s smart TV landscape. The data, presented during Stream TV Europe in Lisbon by Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media & Entertainment at Omdia, points to the accelerating rise of Chinese manufacturers and their proprietary platforms across the continent.

VIDAA’s growth has been fueled by the rapid expansion of Hisense in Europe, driven by competitive pricing strategies, broader distribution and high-profile global marketing initiatives, including major sponsorships such as the FIFA World Cup. This momentum is now translating into platform scale, with shipments expected to surpass those of webOS this year. “The European TV OS market is undergoing a structural shift,” said Aguete. “Chinese manufacturers like Hisense and TCL are not only gaining share in hardware, but are now scaling their own platforms, challenging the long-standing dominance of Korean players.”

While Android TV continues to lead the European market—supported by widespread adoption among multiple manufacturers—the competitive environment is becoming increasingly fragmented. Both webOS and Samsung’s Tizen have experienced gradual declines in share as alternative ecosystems expand their footprint.
The rise of VIDAA reflects a broader industry trend, with Chinese TV brands steadily increasing both their shipment volumes and overall influence, reshaping the smart TV ecosystem across Europe. David Tett, Principal Analyst at Omdia, commented: “Samsung and LG have built their installed bases over the last decade, so are in tens of millions of homes already, but the Chinese vendors’ installed bases are growing rapidly thanks to their shipment growth across Europe.”

For advertisers and content providers, this fragmentation presents new challenges, as audiences become distributed across a wider range of platforms, requiring more sophisticated multi-platform strategies to achieve scale. At the same time, emerging players such as Titan OS are also gaining traction, underlining the speed at which the European smart TV OS hierarchy continues to evolve.