Videotex extends partnership with LG for smart TVs, becomes strategic partner

Noida-based contractual smart television manufacturer, Videotex International, announced on Wednesday that it has become a strategic partner for Korean electronics firm LG’s webOS smart TV platform. As an original design manufacturer (ODM), Videotex had already signed a deal with LG to manufacture TVs based on webOS, in July last year.

As a strategic partner, the company will get early access to webOS developments and features. Such a move may help LG bring its latest software features to TVs of various retail brands in India on priority, with Videotex being liable to test and market the features to retail brands.

An ODM is involved in the design process of a product as well, and has its own research and design facilities. This gives manufacturers such as Videotex the ability to attract a larger number of retail brands in comparison to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) — which can only assemble or manufacture a product once all licenses and designs are offered to them by a contracting company.

ODMs typically also invest larger amounts in acquiring software licenses and establishing development facilities than OEMs.

The company also said that it has already manufactured over 500,000 TVs based on LG’s platform — since acquiring the latter’s license last year.

To be sure, this is not the first instance of India’s contract manufacturers signing deals to rival TV manufacturers from China. In September this year, Dixon signed a deal with Google to license its Android TV platform for use in TVs for retail brands. Super Plastronics had also signed a similar deal with Google, in 2020.

Such deals are seen as key for contract manufacturers to develop from OEMs to ODMs, which in turn give them the ability to cater to a larger number of brands, device types and price categories in the long run.