For decades, high-quality TVs were synonymous with the Sony brand. While they may no longer top the best-seller lists anymore, Sony handing over a majority stake of its TV business to TCL feels like a major industry shift to anyone who grew up watching its displays.
Overnight, Sony announced that it will partner with TCL on a joint venture that will see the latter assume 51 per cent of Sony’s flagging home entertainment business, which includes the iconic Bravia TV brand. Both companies intend to sign a binding agreement by the end of March, before starting operations in April 2027.
According to the official announcement, both companies will share responsibilities, spanning product development, logistics, and customer service.
With such a storied history behind its TV brand, why did Sony sell a majority stake of its home entertainment business to TCL? Despite all the quality and goodwill in the world, Bravia hasn’t been a top-selling product for years.
As of late 2024, Samsung is the top TV brand in terms of shipments, followed by TCL, Hisense, and then LG, according to research from Counterpoint. Sony doesn’t even appear as a footnote.
Sony’s TV business, referred to as “Displays” in its financial reporting, accounted for roughly four per cent of its overall sales during the company’s second quarter of 2025. Much more lucrative for Sony are its music, film, video game, and camera segments.
Meanwhile, TCL’s “Large-Sized Display” segment, which consists of the brand’s TVs, accounted for nearly 52 per cent of its overall revenue during the first half of 2025. In other words, TVs are far more important to TCL’s fortunes than they are to Sony’s.
Even though it means Sony’s TV legacy will live on, albeit in a different form, it’s a big change for the TV industry at large.
