Samsung Electronics has for the first time taken the lead in the North American TV market from rival Sony in terms of the highest average sales price. Market researcher NPD said Monday that the average price of the Korean company's digital TVs sold in North America in the second quarter was US$1,051, while the Japanese giant's average was $1,006. North America is the world's largest TV market and manufacturers from around the globe are competing fiercely there.

In 2006 Samsung displaced Sony by selling the most TVs in North America and has been the sales volume leader ever since. But Sony remained on top in terms of the average sales price. Now Samsung has claimed that crown as well.

The biggest contributor to the change in the ranking was light-emitting diode TVs. Samsung released LED TVs in Korea and the U.S. in March which are priced 40 percent higher than regular LCD TVs. While competitors, including Sony, were lowering their prices, the Korean company tried a daring strategy of releasing premium products.

In the first quarter Sony's average TV sales price was $1,114, dropping to $1,006 in the second quarter. In the same period Samsung's average rose from $1,007 to $1,051.

"Some viewed debuting expensive products amid the recession as risky, but we firmly believed in the success of LED TVs," said Yoon Boo-keun, chief of Samsung's visual display division. As many as 700,000 LED TVs have been sold worldwide since their release, with approximately 230,000 purchased by U.S. consumers.