Sony has announced its plans to permanently separate from its own TV production. The Japanese will initially bring the business division into a joint venture with TCL, which will be allowed to continue using the brand name. However, Sony only holds 49 percent of the joint venture, while TCL controls 51 percent. Such constructs – still viewed speculatively – usually end with the new partner taking over the remaining shares at a later date.
Sony is thus taking the path that many electronics manufacturers have already taken with their divisions. IBM, for example, gradually sold its entire client business to Lenovo. Philips only produces a few high-margin products itself, while other areas have long since been sold and are manufactured under license, such as televisions by TP Vision.
Panels have been purchased for years
Sony and TCL want to finalize the deal by April 2027, after which the joint venture will begin operations. It is expected that TCL will sell premium products under the name “Sony Bravia” in the future. The trademark rights formally remain with Sony. The Japanese had not produced the panels for their devices themselves for a long time, but had instead concentrated on final production and ecosystem and software development. The latter was regularly praised in tests, especially for its excellent motion handling.
Panels were purchased from, among others, AUO and TCL, which produces its own LCD and OLED panels in large quantities via China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT). Century Science & Technology Investment and Samsung Electronics also participate in CSOT. At the same time, Sony purchased premium panels from LG and Samsung until it removed OLED technology from its own TV portfolio in favor of mini-LED. In the summer of last year, Sony also took the 8K series out of its range and left this market segment to Samsung.
Superiority from China and Korea
In the end, Sony, as a premium provider, will probably have realized what other manufacturers without significant panel production of their own have already discovered: with purchased technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult to position high-priced end customer devices against aggressive competition from China. Accordingly, Sony wants to concentrate more on special applications in the future, such as monitors for medicine, broadcasting and content production.
What: Trendforce
This is also reflected in the market shares: According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Sony only has 1.9 percent worldwide, putting it in tenth place. TCL is behind Samsung with Hisense. Sony was still number one in the global TV business in 2005, but has faced a steadily shrinking home entertainment division since then.
The competition authorities, who may examine the deal more critically in view of increasing tensions between Japan and China, could tip the scales.
Which: Sony
