Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of TVs, maintained its dominant global market position in the first quarter of this year, international market researchers said Wednesday.

According to the Germany-based GfK Group and NPD Group, a U.S. market researcher, Samsung products accounted for 30.2 percent of all flat-panel TVs sold throughout the world in the January-March period.

Flat-panel TVs cover liquid crystal display, plasma display panel , and three-dimensional units, as well as smart TVs that merge conventional sets with set top boxes and the Internet.

The latest findings showed Samsung’s market share continuing to grow from 23.3 percent in 2010 and 26.6 percent last year.

The GfK and NPD, in particular, said the tech giant’s strengths in the European and North American markets overshadowed all rivals.

In Europe, Samsung’s smart TV market share in the 24 countries stood at 43.7 percent, larger than the combined market presence of the next three TV manufacturers.

The reports added Samsung had 47.3 percent market share in North America, three times larger than that of the runner-up.

Numbers for 3-D TVs were similar to those for smart sets, with Samsung controlling 46.6 percent and 54.4 percent of the European and North American markets, respectively.

Such commanding leads remained unchanged in the flat-panel LCD and PDP sector, where the South Korean company’s share stood in the mid-30 percent range in both of the world’s two largest consumer markets, they said.

The research firms added that Samsung was also No.1 in upper-end TV set sales in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, with its market share ranging from 27 percent up to 38 percent.

Industry watchers, meanwhile, said with Samsung’s unveiling of the world’s first mass produced 55-inch organic light-emitting diode TV last week, it will continue to control the global market for the foreseeable future.

The company announced it plans to launch 60-inch and 75-inch smart TVs, which could further strengthen its model line-up in the premium set sector. (Yonhap News)