Sony is selling its TV and home entertainment division to TCL

[Appys]

End of an era

Sony and TCL Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Partnership in Home Entertainment Field

Sony Corporation ("Sony") and TCL Electronics Holdings Limited ("TCL") today announced that the two companies have agreed to move forward with discussions and consideration for a strategic partnership in the home entertainment field.

www.sony.co.jp

https://www.whathifi.com/tv-home-ci...but-what-does-this-mean-for-future-bravia-tvs
Surprised to hear reports about Sony potentially exiting or selling its TV division to TCL. That said, the move does not feel entirely out of character given how much the TV market has commoditized over the last decade.

For quite some time now, Sony televisions have no longer stood for exceptional longevity or unquestionable build quality the way they once did. The brand still carries recall value, but the real differentiation on durability and long-term reliability seems to have faded. Hopefully atleast Sony tax sees the end of day and Bravia becomes affordable.

 

[sand87ch]

End of an era

Sony and TCL Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Partnership in Home Entertainment Field

Sony Corporation ("Sony") and TCL Electronics Holdings Limited ("TCL") today announced that the two companies have agreed to move forward with discussions and consideration for a strategic partnership in the home entertainment field.

www.sony.co.jp

https://www.whathifi.com/tv-home-ci...but-what-does-this-mean-for-future-bravia-tvs
Surprised to hear reports about Sony potentially exiting or selling its TV division to TCL. That said, the move does not feel entirely out of character given how much the TV market has commoditized over the last decade.

For quite some time now, Sony televisions have no longer stood for exceptional longevity or unquestionable build quality the way they once did. The brand still carries recall value, but the real differentiation on durability and long-term reliability seems to have faded. Hopefully atleast Sony tax sees the end of day and Bravia becomes affordable.

I think this is the most saddening news that i have heard.I agree that sony TVs may have become less better over the years in terms of build quality at least with their mid range but still being a sony customer over the years i have seen other brand tvs installed in another room and at my friends failing even while the sony kept running happily.
Sony is kind of similar to the Apple of tvs.They used to innovate,their motion and picture processing was awsome and you could always expect a certain quality across their range(picture clarity) if its a SONY which i dont think i can say about other brands in their low to mid range.Yes the price would indeed come down but will Sony finally meet the fate of Toshiba and sharp is something only time will tell.
For us consumers its one more great brand signing off of the market,with this competition decreases and i think its quality and standards that will take a hit.Everything going ahead will be more about quantity and profits and tech features rather than the core feature of a tv that matters which is picture quality.
This deal is like BOAT taking over yamahas audio operations.

 

[MaSh]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...s-company-in-the-us/articleshow/126800578.cms

The Japanese electronics giant announced it will take a 49% ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Looks like a partnership where Sony will be a Non Majority share holder. I am guessing over the years, they will start selling off their shares to others and totally exit.

MaSh

 

[sandeepmohan]

The Koreans came around, worked hard and blew Sony to oblivion is whats I'd say. No amount of Technology excellence could rescue Sony, as LG & Samsung were also spending heaps on TV R&D. They were also a tad cheaper at the store.

Sony were also sleeping at the wheel. They introduced Oled tech to the world and then let LG race away with it. Its akin to Nissan introducing the mass market electric car Leaf and not really doing much more after that.

The benefit for TCL here is to tap into Sony's proprietary picture processing and improve on it. So we might see some of that filter to their own TV's. I won't go as far as to say the brand is dead. Its the same as what happened to Philips 20 years ago. They are still around. Not as popular.

It is unfortunate. The only Japanese brand left is Panasonic. I won't be surprised if they give up on TV's too.

 

[mr_grump5]

other than IC drivers and propriety codes for processing Sony has pretty much outsourced all their TV components, the premium commanded is for their out of the box accuracy and cherry picked panels for their top end models. TCL getting first dips into much guarded Sony' IPs with their manufacturing verticals will help them in their foray to premium TV space.

 

[Nitin K]

The Koreans came around, worked hard and blew Sony to oblivion is whats I'd say. No amount of Technology excellence could rescue Sony, as LG & Samsung were also spending heaps on TV R&D. They were also a tad cheaper at the store.

Sony were also sleeping at the wheel. They introduced Oled tech to the world and then let LG race away with it. Its akin to Nissan introducing the mass market electric car Leaf and not really doing much more after that.

The benefit for TCL here is to tap into Sony's proprietary picture processing and improve on it. So we might see some of that filter to their own TV's. I won't go as far as to say the brand is dead. Its the same as what happened to Philips 20 years ago. They are still around. Not as popular.

It is unfortunate. The only Japanese brand left is Panasonic. I won't be surprised if they give up on TV's too.

With LG and Samsung grabbing most of the premium market share for TV's with their aggressive marketing, pricing strategy and technology, there wasn't much left for Sony.
WIth TCL holding the major stakes, hope it does not go down the Sansui way.

 

[square_wave]

Sony is no longer the market leader by volume, but it remains the benchmark for quality for purists. If Samsung is the "high-performance sports car" and LG is the "tech-heavy luxury sedan," Sony is perceived as the "hand-crafted grand tourer"—more expensive and perhaps less flashy, but technically superior for the dedicated enthusiast.

Sales of sony is quite low. If TCL retains Sony's brand as a "purist tv" then we may have a winning solution here. The TCL brand will be the cash cow that feeds the "purist" Sony which in turn will give brand value to TCL increasing their sales as well.