NEWS: Anyone notice the Sony creating a JV with TCL annoucement?

[Calm-One]

I have to admit I have had a few Sony panels and projectors since Pioneer Elite plasmas declined so I have some bias, but to make a deal for 51% ownership of the Bravia brand to TCL?

Ref:

TCL to Take Control of Sony's TV Business, Will Retain the Bravia Brand

TCL will own 51% of the proposed joint venture and manage the manufacturing and sales of Sony's TVs and home audio devices worldwide.

www.pcmag.com

 

[LoveCinema]

Sony, LG, and Samsung have been battling it out to be the "best" of an ever-shrinking market, incapable of competing with the sizes and prices of the competition. Sony is taking a back seat and effectively turning over the Bravia brand. Meanwhile, LG has been cutting back on tech licenses (DTS) and including forced image processing in TVs. Samsung is doing their own thing and trying to launch a Dolby Vision 2 competitor. Interesting days for sure.

Unfortunately, yet another example of a quality product being consumed by lesser but more popular products. We've seen it so many times...

 

[macfan2k24]

I have to admit I have had a few Sony panels and projectors since Pioneer Elite plasmas declined so I have some bias, but to make a deal for 51% ownership of the Bravia brand to TCL?

Ref:

TCL to Take Control of Sony's TV Business, Will Retain the Bravia Brand

TCL will own 51% of the proposed joint venture and manage the manufacturing and sales of Sony's TVs and home audio devices worldwide.

www.pcmag.com

Read about this last week and felt the same. Replaced my Pioneers with Sony OLEDs over the years.

 

[Calm-One]

Read about this last week and felt the same. Replaced my Pioneers with Sony OLEDs over the years.

It's been a couple of tough weeks.

This announcement, followed by Tesla discontinuing the S and X, followed by a pullback on Kscape SSD models... lol

 

[LoveCinema]

And, after a recent return to the US TV market, Panasonic has entered a partnership with the Chinese company Skyworth to produce their TVs. If you got excited about Panasonic being back on the scene, it looks like 2026 will be the year to grab a TV.

Panasonic, the former plasma king, will no longer make its own TVs

Panasonic was one of the last Japanese companies still manufacturing TVs.

arstechnica.com

 

[cinelife]

And, after a recent return to the US TV market, Panasonic has entered a partnership with the Chinese company Skyworth to produce their TVs. If you got excited about Panasonic being back on the scene, it looks like 2026 will be the year to grab a TV.

Panasonic, the former plasma king, will no longer make its own TVs

Panasonic was one of the last Japanese companies still manufacturing TVs.

arstechnica.com

At one point in history, especially in Japan, Panasonic was considered a better display than even Sony. Not sure what this new relationship will produce, but more competition is always better. I'm wondering if this is really a Panasonic decision, or the sale of their name in the form of a partnership.

Jim

 

[LoveCinema]

Apparently Panasonic is providing their name and guidance, but won't be directly involved in any manufacturing. Last year's Panasonic TVs were very highly rated, but they didn't move numbers. Skyworth is unknown in the US but with Panasonic's name they'll move units. Especially since any reviews upon initial release are likely to be that of the prior models. Anyway, the agreement starts in April? So, there might not even be "true" Panasonic 2026 models. If you were hankering for one of the 2025's but wanted to see what was coming this year, it may be worth securing a unit sooner than later.

All of this reminds me of buying light bulbs (hear me out). I wanted the "best" LED bulbs to replace lights in my house. Just standard white, but high-quality, long-life, good "color", smooth-dimming, etc. I wound up selecting Cree. Great bulbs, but three times the price of Amazon Basics. Not long thereafter Cree basically left the "basic bulb" market and went into specialty and smart bulbs. There's just not enough market for a really nice version of a basic product; that middle tier is going away. Walmart shelves or custom dealer, those are your options.

 

[artur9]

iirc, Skyworth is a luxury brand?

 

[LoveCinema]

iirc, Skyworth is a luxury brand?

No, "budget-friendly" products sold in mass quantities (~25M units/year?). Expect to see Panasonic branded TVs in Walmart and Costco.

LG and Samsung appear to be the last of the big manufacturers making premium products. Even then, LG has troubling recent habits of dropping audio formats for passthrough and forced image processing. As recently as a couple of years ago we were flush with options with any of the big three offering unquestionably great products. Now it looks like things may be settling down with a focus on price/units. On the plus side, tech is constantly advancing and tomorrow's cheap TV may match or exceed yesterday's premium device. What we're potentially missing out on in tomorrow's premium device.