The TV industry doesn’t change overnight, but when it does, the shifts tend to be structural rather than cosmetic. That’s why Sony’s announcement that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with TCL has sparked such a strong reaction. If this partnership becomes official, it won’t just affect Sony TVs. It could redefine how premium televisions are designed, manufactured, and priced over the next decade.
At the center of the discussion is a proposed joint venture where TCL would hold a 51 percent stake and Sony would retain 49 percent. The plan, if approved by regulators, is for the new entity to begin operations in April 2027. That means consumers likely won’t see the first products from this partnership until late 2027 at the earliest.
This is important context, because despite the strong headlines, nothing has actually changed yet for buyers walking into stores in 2026.
Why Sony is even considering this move
Sony’s TV business has survived where many Japanese brands failed by staying firmly in the premium segment. Bravia TVs are known less for raw panel hardware and more for Sony’s picture processing, motion handling, and color accuracy. Even when Sony uses panels sourced from other companies, it’s the processing that sets its TVs apart.
But premium positioning comes with a problem: margins are thin, competition is intense, and manufacturing costs keep rising. Sony already relies on multiple external suppliers for panels, including OLED panels from LG Display and Samsung Display, and LCD panels believed to come from TCL’s display arm, CSOT.
What TCL brings to the table is something Sony no longer has at scale: end-to-end control of manufacturing. TCL designs its own panels, builds them in-house, and integrates them directly into finished TVs. That level of vertical integration makes it easier to move faster on new technologies and keep costs under control.
For Sony, partnering with TCL could mean access to advanced mini-LED development, newer quantum dot materials, improved color filters, and potentially even future OLED capacity, without having to invest billions into new factories.
What TCL gains from Sony
From TCL’s perspective, this partnership is about more than volume. TCL is already one of the biggest TV brands in the world by shipments, especially in the value and midrange segments. What it lacks is the kind of prestige Sony still commands in the premium space.
Sony’s image processing chips, tuning expertise, and audio technology are widely respected across the industry. A Bravia TV is trusted by enthusiasts not because of its panel supplier, but because Sony knows how to extract the best possible image from it.
By aligning itself with Sony, TCL gains credibility at the high end, access to advanced image and audio technology, and a globally respected brand name that still carries weight with buyers willing to pay more.
This is not a case of a low-cost manufacturer simply slapping a famous logo on budget hardware. TCL has spent years closing the quality gap, and its recent TVs show how narrow the difference between midrange and premium has become.
Why customers are nervous
Online reactions to the news have been swift and emotional. Many consumers immediately worried that Sony TVs could follow the path of brands like Toshiba or Pioneer, where the name survived but the product quality did not.
That concern is understandable. A 51 percent stake gives TCL control, and history shows that licensing deals can hollow out once-great brands.
However, there are key differences here. Sony is not licensing its name and walking away. It is staying involved, retaining the Bravia brand, and explicitly positioning the joint venture as a combination of Sony’s picture and audio technology with TCL’s manufacturing strength.
Sony’s entire premium TV identity depends on image quality. It would take a fundamental shift in corporate philosophy for Sony to allow clearly inferior products to carry the Bravia name.
What this could mean for future Sony TVs
If the partnership works as intended, it could actually benefit buyers. The combination of TCL’s manufacturing efficiency and Sony’s processing expertise could lead to Sony Bravia TVs that deliver the same or better performance at lower prices.
It could also accelerate innovation. TCL’s control over panel production makes it easier to implement changes like new color filters or mini-LED improvements that would be expensive or impractical for third-party panel suppliers to customize for a single brand.
There are still open questions. Will Sony’s image processing remain exclusive to Bravia, or will some of it eventually appear in TCL-branded TVs? Will Sony continue to focus only on the premium segment, or will there be overlap in the midrange? How much design separation will remain between the brands?
None of that has been answered yet.
More than just TVs
One detail that received less attention is that the joint venture may also include home audio products like soundbars and speakers. Both Sony and TCL have struggled to compete with Samsung’s Harman-owned audio brands, and pooling resources could strengthen their position.
Headphones are likely excluded, as Sony already operates that category separately, but the broader home entertainment strategy suggests this partnership is about scale, not just screens.
This is not the end of Sony TVs
Sony has been steadily shifting its focus toward higher-margin businesses like games, film, music, and IP licensing. TVs no longer drive growth the way they once did, but they remain strategically important as a showcase for Sony’s creative ecosystem.
Rather than signaling retreat, this move looks like an attempt to preserve relevance in a brutally competitive hardware market without bleeding cash.
If anything, the proposed partnership highlights just how dominant TCL has become in global TV manufacturing. And for Sony, it may represent a path back toward offering premium-quality TVs that more people can actually afford. The products that emerge from this deal are still years away. But if it goes through, it won’t mark the end of Sony in televisions. It could mark the beginning of a very different Sony, one that survives by adapting instead of stubbornly standing still.
