News India Live, Digital Desk: Japanese giant ‘Sony’, which has dominated the television world for decades, has taken a decision which has shocked the entire tech industry. According to reports, Sony Group is very close to selling 51 percent stake of its home entertainment business (which includes TV and audio products) to Chinese company TCL. After this deal of about 1 billion dollars (about ₹ 8,300 crore), the command of Sony’s TV business will now be in the hands of TCL. After this news, this question is arising in the minds of crores of ‘Bravia’ lovers that will they no longer get to see Sony’s premium TVs in the market? Will Sony’s TVs be discontinued now? (End of Bravia?) Contrary to speculation on social media, Sony TVs are not being discontinued. According to the deal, the ‘Sony’ logo and ‘Bravia’ branding will remain the same on the TV in the future also. The main changes will happen behind the scenes. Now TCL will have the entire responsibility of manufacturing, supply chain and logistics of Sony TV. In simple words, the brand will remain ‘Sony’, but the ‘brain’ and ‘structure’ to make it and take it to the market will be of TCL. Why did Sony take such a big decision? There was a time when having a Sony TV in the house was considered a status symbol. But in the last few years, brands like Samsung, LG and TCL itself have given a tough challenge to Sony’s market share by offering great features at low prices. Low Margin: Competition in the TV segment has increased so much that profits have become very low. Focus on Entertainment: Sony now wants to focus more on high-margin businesses like gaming (PlayStation), movies (Sony Pictures) and music instead of hardware. Strengths of TCL: TCL has the world’s most advanced display technology and There are huge manufacturing units, the benefit of which will now benefit the Sony brand. Joint Venture: How will the work be divided? Sony and TCL will together form a Joint Venture, which is expected to be fully active from April 2027. TCL (51% stake): Operational control, manufacturing, and cost efficiency. Sony (49% stake): Picture processing, audio technology, brand value. and designing inputs. Sony will share its ‘image processing’ and ‘sound tuning’ technology with TCL so that the BRAVIA retains the special quality it is known for. What will be the impact on customers? The biggest benefit of this partnership can be found in the form of ‘price’ to the customers. Due to TCL’s vertical supply chain, Sony TVs may become slightly cheaper in the future. However, experts fear that due to outsourcing of manufacturing, Sony’s premium ‘build quality’ and ‘software experience’ may get reduced. For now, there will be no impact on the 2026 models and the existing warranty and service support will continue as before.
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