LG Electronics may trail Sony and Samsung in overall global high-definition television market share, but the Seoul, Korea-based company is trying to become the HDTV of choice among hotel operators.
The world’s third-largest liquid-crystal display TV maker signed two agreements this week with technology companies that will give its TVs capabilities ranging from room-lighting control to Internet connectivity.
LG and Salt Lake City-based Control4 Corp. will co-develop cards that may be inserted into LG HDTVs that would let hotel guests control room temperature, drapery settings, lighting and other entertainment components from their TV remote controls.
Meanwhile, LodgeNet Interactive, which services about 10,000 worldwide hotels totaling more than 1.9 million rooms with in-room services such as video-on-demand and broadband access, reached agreements to encrypt its software in HDTVs made by LG, in addition to Panasonic and Philips television sets, LodgeNet said this week.
“We’re seeing an accelerated demand for HDTV from our lodging customers and expect this trend to continue throughout 2008 as major hotel chains ramp up their HD rollouts,” Ron Snaidauf, VP of commercial products for LG Electronics USA, said in a statement. “LodgeNet’s specialized knowledge regarding HD needs in the hospitality industry makes them an ideal partner.”
Hotel sales have helped LG leapfrog Sharp and Philips in worldwide unit market share among LCD television makers, according to NPD Group unit DisplaySearch. LG sold 10.8% of the world’s LCD TVs during the first quarter, up from 7.6% a year earlier. The company’s televisions are especially popular in developing regions, where it sold about 25% of the LCD sets during the quarter, DisplaySearch says.
Neither closely held Control4 nor LodgeNet, which had $485.6 million in revenue last year when it almost doubled its rooms served, disclosed how many LG television sets would include the new capabilities or how soon they would be implemented.