Sony Bravia will now be controlled by TCL and it’s the end of a historic tech era
Sony is set to hand over control of its Bravia TV business to TCL. The plan is they will still be Bravia sets but will no longer be manufactured by Sony.
Sony is set to enter a partnership with the Chinese TV maker TCL, effectively handing over control of the Bravia television brand. In a joint announcement on Tuesday, the two tech giants revealed Sony was planning to sell 51% – a majority – of its home entertainment business to TCL. Sony will still hold onto the remaining 49%.
Sony is bringing its “high quality picture and audio technology cultivated over the years” as well as the company’s brand value. TCL is going to build the sets – which will still be sold and marketed as Sony Bravia – using its “advanced display technology”, as well as all of the boring production stuff like “industrial footprint, end-to-end cost efficiency, and vertical supply chain strength.”
The ceding of control is a surprise given Sony’s heritage in the television business. It dates all the way back to the late 1960s when the company debuted the Sony Trinitron range of CRT colour television sets that were an absolute revolution and sold in the hundreds of millions.
The key innovation was to place three cathodes in a line inside a single gun, and it resulted in brighter set with greater picture quality that was more affordable to manufacture. The Trinitron TV was even the first consumer electronics device to win an Emmy Award. It was so successful that it put Sony on the map, catapulted the company into the mainstream, and funded the R&D needed to pioneer products like the Walkman personal cassette player and Handyman video camera series. Now Sony’s TV business is majority owned by TCL and that’s kind of sad.
Sony CEO Kimio Maki says: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with TCL for a strategic partnership. By combining both companies’ expertise, we aim to create new customer value in the home entertainment field, delivering even more captivating audio and visual experiences to customers worldwide.”
The new partnership will begin in April 2027, the press release days, and is subject to approval from the requisite regulators.
Sony has just sent us the following statement to clarify the status quo around the partnership announcement:
Sony and TCL have agreed to move forward with discussions and consideration for a strategic partnership in their home entertainment field.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to confirm their intentions to establish a joint venture to grow the home entertainment business in the global market by combining the strengths of both companies.
The new company plans to advance its business by leveraging Sony’s high-quality picture and audio technology cultivated over the years, brand value and operational expertise including supply chain management, while utilising TCL’s advanced display technology, global scale strength, industrial footprint, end-to-end cost efficiency, and vertical supply chain advantages.
We consider the two companies to be nearly equal partners, both Sony and TCL will provide steadfast support for the sustainable growth of the new company, to create innovative products that meet the expectations of customers around the world and pursue further business growth through operational excellence.
At this stage, the announcement reflects an initial memorandum of understanding, and further details are still under discussion. We will communicate further at the appropriate timing when there is confirmed information to share.
Source: Kofi Acquah
