Korean TV makers were overtaken by Taiwan‘s Vizio Inc. in North America’s liquid crystal display TV market last year, according to a market research firm Wednesday.

Vizio sold 6.96 million LCD TVs in the United States and Canada, accounting for 18.2 percent of LCD TVs sold in the market last year, according to data from market researcher DisplaySearch.

Samsung sold 6.72 million LCD TVs in 2010, claiming a 17.5 percent share, followed by Japan‘s Funai Electric Co.’s 12 percent share, it said.

Japan‘s Sony Corp. was the fourth-largest LCD TV maker in the North American market last year with a 10.4 percent share, while Korean TV maker LG Electronics Inc. was the fifth-biggest with a 9.7 percent share.

The data based on the number of TV units sold showed Vizio’s ascent at the cost of Samsung and LG‘s shipment declines. Samsung was the leader in North America’s LCD TV market in 2009 with a 17.2 percent share, followed by Vizio, Funai and Sony.

But in terms of revenues, Samsung led the LCD TV market by a big margin, report showed. It posted $22.19 billion in LCD TV revenues last year, accounting for 26.5 percent of LCD TV revenues in North America. Sony was runner-up with $5.88 billion in revenues, or a 16.1 percent share.

Vizio was the third-largest TV maker in terms of revenues with a 15.5 percent share, while LG Electronics was the No. 4 with an 11.1 percent share. 

(Yonhap News)