Sony has today announced plans to spin off its entire television business into a new joint venture with Chinese company TCL. TCL will own 51 per cent of the new venture, while Sony will retain 49 per cent. This will give TCL operational control of the new company, while Sony will remain a significant owner. This was announced in a joint press release from the two companies.
The agreement is not yet legally binding, but the parties aim to finalise it by the end of March 2026. If all regulatory approvals are obtained, the new company will commence operations in April 2027.
The Bravia brand will continue
The new company will continue to use both the Sony and Bravia brands and will be responsible for the entire value chain of TV and home entertainment products: product development, design, production, sales and logistics – which will presumably be handled by TCL CSOT in China.
In practice, this means that TCL will be responsible for much of the industrial implementation, while Sony possibly will contribute its expertise in image and sound technology and signal processing.
Same great picture quality, more efficient production?
The background for this move is an increasingly tough TV market, where manufacturers such as TCL and Hisense have taken large market shares through aggressive pricing and rapid technological innovation, particularly in mini-LED and QLED.
Sony, for its part, has retained a strong reputation for image quality and sound, but has struggled with profitability and scale. This collaboration gives Sony access to TCL’s efficient production and supply chains, while TCL gains access to Sony’s advanced image processing and prestigious Bravia name.
‘Sony Bravia’ could become TCL’s premium brand for TVs – but also for home cinema and sound
According to the press release, the new company will not only handle TV production, but in practice Sony’s entire ‘Home Entertainment’ section for hardware-based home cinema and entertainment products, including hi-fi (needs confirmation). This may have consequences for future Bravia soundbars and other audio products, which may be developed in closer collaboration with TCL.
All products will continue to be sold under the Sony and Bravia names, but TCL will have majority ownership and thus control. While Sony will reportedly contribute image and sound technology, brand value and experience, TCL will be responsible for production, display technology and cost efficiency.
In practice, this could mean that Sony Bravia TVs will serve as a supplement to TCL’s other TV brands, such as TCL and iFalcon.
Could lead to more affordable Bravia TVs
The first TVs developed under the new company are expected in 2027 at the earliest. The combination of Sony’s image processing and TCL’s manufacturing power could eventually result in Bravia TVs with more competitive prices – especially in the large TV and mini-LED segment, where TCL has been particularly successful.
If the company retains its expertise in image processing, this could certainly be exciting. The latest big TV news from Sony was the anticipated new high-end TVs with RGB MiniLED technology, but these were not shown at CES 2026.
In fact, Sony TV was not present at CES at all, and with today’s announcement, we understand why.
The agreement highlights a major trend in the TV market: it is becoming increasingly difficult to run a profitable TV manufacturing business on your own. Even established premium brands are being pushed into partnerships in order to survive in a market with low margins and rapid technological development.
Whether this will be a new chapter in the Bravia story – or the end of Sony’s television dominance as we know it – will only become clear when the first jointly developed models hit the shelves.
Note – from what L&B understands, the traditional audio products such as Personal Audio (headphones like the WH-1000XM6) and hi-fi will remain 100% Sony-owned divisions, and are not affected by the new deal.
Source: Sony press release
