One of the most beloved names in the TV business is throwing in the towel, as Sony has announced a new partnership with TCL that will see the latter steering the ship.
As announced this morning via press release, Sony and TCL have entered a “strategic partnership” that will see the start of a joint venture between the two brands, expected to launch by April of next year. That doesn’t mean this is an even split, though, as TCL will take the reins with 51% of control. Sony, naturally, will take a minority controlling share with the remaining 49%. Although the two companies say they’re still working on a final binding agreement ahead of March, this new venture will handle “product development and design, manufacturing, sales, logistics, and customer service” on a global level.
This does make a certain amount of sense from Sony’s perspective. Despite a long legacy in the TV business, Sony has its hands in just about every aspect of consumer electronics these days, not to mention effectively dominating anime through its ownership of Crunchyroll. TCL, meanwhile, is one of the largest television brands in the world, all while continuing to actively grow its own marketshare. TCL also makes panels for both itself and other companies through TCL CSOT, something Sony does not currently do.
As far as what we can expect from this new partnership, TCL and Sony’s press release tells us this “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 utilizing TCL’s advanced display technology, global scale advantages, industrial footprint, end-to-end cost efficiency, and vertical supply chain strength.”
In other words, Sony’s legacy, supply chain management, and branding combined with TCL’s display manufacturing and cost efficiencies. And yes, that means the Bravia logo will continue to appear across new products, right alongside Sony. Presumably, this new venture will also continue to partner with Google, as both Sony and especially TCL remain close partners.
It’s unclear what this might mean for new Sony-branded TVs right now, but cheaper Bravia sets seem like a no-brainer. Likewise, this could give TCL the boost it needs to break into the highest-end portions of the consumer market, the one space where companies like Samsung, LG, and, well, Sony, still tend to dominate. Either way, it’s the end of an era for Sony, and next April will see the start of something new.
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