Sony is planning to spin off its television and home entertainment business. Sony and TCL plan to establish a joint venture that will take on the Sony home entertainment business and continue to use its brand, with TCL holding 51% of the shares and Sony retaining the remainder. The aim to reach a binding agreement by the end of March 2026, and to commence operations a year later.
The joint venture between Sony Corporation and TCL Electronics Holdings will operate globally, handling everything from product development and design to manufacturing, sales, logistics, and customer service for products from televisions to home audio equipment.
The products of the new venture are expected to carry the Sony and Bravia name, using TCL for its manufacturing and supply chain management economics.
Kimio Maki, the chief executive of Sony Corporation, said: “By combining both companies’ expertise, we aim to create new customer value in the home entertainment field, delivering even more captivating audio and visual experiences to customers worldwide.”
DU Juan, the chair of TCL Electronics Holdings, said the strategic partnership with Sony represents a unique opportunity. “Through strategic business complementarity, technology and know-how sharing, and operational integration, we expect to elevate our brand value, achieve greater scale, and optimize the supply chain in order to deliver superior products and services to our customers.”
TCL Electronics Holdings has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since November 1999 and has since become one of the biggest manufacturers of televisions. TCL shipped 29 million televisions in 2024, up from 25 million the previous year. In the first three quarters of 2025 it shipped 21 million sets.
Sony has been a pioneer in display technologies and has an established reputation in consumer and professional products but stopped manufacturing its own television panels years ago.
Other Japanese companies like Toshiba, Hitatchi, and Pioneer no longer make their own televisions but licence their brands in some markets. Others, like Sharp, which is owned by contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn, continue to develop televisions but are increasingly reliant on licensing agreements outside Japan. Panasonic has scaled back its television production, with some manufacturing outsourced companies like Vestel and TCL.
The global television market is highly competitive, with South Korean companies Samsung and LG facing increasing pressure from Chinese competitors like TCL and Hisense.
The Sony Bravia brand continues to carry strong recognition for image and audio performance, but its overall share of the television market has declined compared with past decades, and it faces intense competition from lower-cost Chinese competitors with vertically integrated production.
TCL stands to gain from the use of the Sony and Bravia brands that will enable them to compete not only on price but also to gain creditability with more premium products at higher price points.