中国有望打造新一代电视机

    上个月举行的IFA2012柏林消费电子展上，回头率最高的产品之一来自中国的TCL多媒体公司。这家公司推出了一款26英寸，依托于安卓操作系统（Android）的智能显示器，据称，这款名为冰激凌智屏（Ice Screen）的产品不仅拥有平板电脑的功能，同时致力于捕捉年轻人市场不断变化的电视收视习惯。它是TCL与中国互联网服务供应商腾讯公司（Tencent）合作的成果之一，即将作为世界首台大屏幕移动智能云终端在中国上市。

    请不要把它叫做电视机。

    “这是一台26英寸的大屏显示器，”TCL多媒体新兴市场业务中心总经理郝义（音译）说。“它不仅是为电视而设计的，因为现在的青年一代已经不再像老一代人那样收看电视了。”

    虽然TCL公司的绝大多数业务依然来自中国，但它也在着眼于拓展国际电视市场。这家公司刚刚公布的月度销售数据显示，液晶电视8月份的销售额较去年同期增长了38.7%，LED背光液晶电视的增幅尤为显著。TCL公司海外市场的销售额较去年同期增长了36.5%，其中在新兴市场上取得了尤其令人瞩目的增长。

    郝义说：“中国市场是我们的骨干，依然是产品销量继续攀升的主要动力。”他指出，TCL公司的一半销售额来自本土市场，而从国际市场来看，“主要的推动力来自于拉美市场”。

    一直到几年之前，在美国市场销售的TCL电视还是被冠以RCA品牌。但郝义表示，该公司在2010年改变了战略，重点推广TCL品牌。在欧洲市场上，TCL多媒体已经与汤姆逊公司（Thomson）达成了一项授权协议。他说：“我们正在斥资打造一个全新的品牌形象，这就是我们为什么在美国和北美市场只运营TCL品牌的原因所在；而在欧洲市场，我们将同时运营TCL和汤姆逊品牌。”

    欧洲双重品牌战略的实质在于，向年轻观众推销TCL品牌，同时致力于将汤姆逊打造成郝义所说的“家喻户晓的品牌”。

    但是，甚至在TCL致力于拓展北美、欧洲和拉丁美洲新兴市场之际，它依然持续致力于其在中国大陆市场的扩张，理由很充分。

    “中国电视市场在中国电视制造商眼里的确是一个不断增长的市场，”市场研究机构IHS iSuppli电视技术分析师埃德•鲍德尔表示。“此刻，就在TCL向海外市场扩张的时候，对于中国电视制造商而言，最富增长前景的依然是其国内市场。”

    此外，中国现在还是最大的电视市场，预期未来几年的年均销售额将在4,700万台到5,500万台之间，这一数字让美国市场现在的销量（4,000万台）相形见绌。

    TCL公司能够扩张的另一个因素是，其亚洲竞争者正在经历某种程度的业务收缩。“TCL的机会部分源自这样一个事实：日本电视制造商已经缩减了产量，”鲍德尔强调指出。“日本品牌正在降低产量，中国品牌正在全力扩张。”

    此外，TCL公司希望借助冰激凌智屏等新产品吸引年轻人市场。虽然迄今为止，TCL只公布了一个中文版本，但郝义表示，这款产品的确具有打入国际市场的潜质。关键是找到一个内容供应商。“腾讯控股公司就是中国的MSN或者说Facebook，拥有近10亿互联网用户，”郝义说。“但这款产品的关键组成部分在于，其内容源自互联网。所有，要把它带入其他市场绝对需要一个强大的内容合作伙伴。”

    At last month's IFA 2012 electronics show in Berlin, one of the biggest head-turning products was from China-based TCL Multimedia. The company introduced the Ice Screen, a 26-inch Android-based smart display that reportedly offers the functionality of a tablet while aiming to capture the changing TV viewing habits of the youth market. It will debut in China as part of a partnership with Chinese Internet provider Tencent as the world's first large screen mobile intelligent cloud product.

    Just don't call it a television.

    "It is a 26-inch large display," says Hao Yi, general manager of TCL Multimedia Emerging Market Business Center. "It is not just for TV, as the younger generation doesn't watch TV like the older generation."

    While the vast majority of its business still comes from China, TCL has also looked to expand into the international TV market. The company just released its monthly sales volume for August of LCD TVs, reporting a 38.7% total year-on-year increase, with a marked increase of LED backlight LCD sets specifically. In its overseas market TCL reported an increase of 36.5% year-on-year, with notable expansion in emerging markets.

    "The Chinese market is our backbone and that remains the main climber for the volume of our products," adds Yi, who noted that 50% of sales come from its home markets, while internationally the "main driver is Latin America."

    Until a few years ago TCL's sets were sold in the United States under the RCA brand, but Yi says that the company changed its strategy in 2010 to focus on promoting the TCL brand instead. It has a licensing deal with Thomson in Europe. "We are investing in a new brand image, so that is why we solely run with the TCL brand in the United States and North America, while we will continue to have dual brands in Europe with both TCL and the Thomson brand," he says.

    The two-prong strategy in Europe essentially comes to down to marketing TCL products to the younger audience, while focusing on Thomson for what Yi calls the "established family brand."

    But even as TCL looks to North America, Europe and the emerging markets in Latin America, it continues to rededicate its efforts in mainland China, and for good reason.

    "The Chinese TV market is really the growth market for Chinese TV makers," says Ed Border, TV technology analyst at IHS iSuppli. "At the moment, even as TCL expands to overseas markets, the growth forecast for Chinese TV makers is going to be domestic."

    China is also now the largest TV market, with expected growth over the next few years from 47 million to 55 million sets sold annually, a number that now dwarfs the 40 million in sales generated in the United States.

    TCL could also see expansion just as its rivals throughout Asia are seeing a level of retraction. "Part of the opportunity has come from the fact that the Japanese TV makers have scaled back," emphasizes Border. "Japanese brands are lowering volumes as Chinese brands are expanding."

    The company is also looking at new products such as the Ice Screen to attract the youth market. While to date only a Chinese version has been announced, Yi said that the product does have international potential. The key is finding a content provider. "Tencent Holding is like MSN or Facebook in China, with 1 billion Internet users," Yi says. "But the key component in this is that the content is from the Internet. So to bring it to other markets simply requires a strong content partner."