Multimedia conglomerate Sony has announced that it will launch one of its longest-running business ventures, predating even its iconic PlayStation set of gaming consoles. Despite the publisher's phenomenal position in the world of video games with the PlayStation brand, Sony has also had a strong presence in other media and entertainment industries since its founding in 1946. In the earliest stages of its history, Sony became famous for various forms of electronics, including the TR-55 radio and the CV-2000 VCR.
The media giant continued its growth throughout the 1980s and 1990s when it acquired Columbia Records and Columbia Pictures and folded them into Sony Music Group and Sony Pictures Entertainment, respectively. In addition to foraying into the worlds of music, film and television, the conglomerate entered the world of gaming with the launch of the PlayStation in 1994, creating a behemoth that would help create the world's best-selling console brand. Its dominance didn't stop there, as Sony acquired CrunchyRoll in 2021 and merged it with its pre-existing service, Funimation, as the conglomerate looks set to become a household name in the anime world.
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The Sony TV brand will be transferred to TCL
Sony has announced a new partnership with Chinese electronics company TCL and will spin off its TV business into a new venture. Under the deal, TCL will own 51% of the new TV company, while Sony will own 49%, just below the majority stake. The two companies are expected to finalize all agreements by March and, following prototype legal approvals, the new company is expected to begin operations in April 2027.
Even amid the new joint venture, TCL is expected to continue using the Sony and Bravia brands on its upcoming products. Even as Sony steps back from day-to-day TV production, TCL promises to continue using “Sony's high-quality picture and sound technologies.” TCL will combine this with its “advanced display technology” while leveraging its global strength to further push displays on a global scale.
If the deal successfully clears all legal hurdles, it will mark the end of Sony's position as a major heavyweight in one of its longest-running business ventures. Sony made its first foray into the television landscape with the creation of the TV8-301 in 1959, the first ever all-transistor television display. Its groundbreaking Trinitron brand, one of the first commercial television systems, sold more than 100 million units and was a major step forward for color television.
Since 2010, however, Sony has ventured out of several areas of the electronic business, notably ending its own Blu-ray disc production last year, in an effort to focus more on using its intellectual properties in film and anime. Meanwhile, as the rest of the TV industry struggled, TCL competed with brands like LG in the TV market by creating more competitively priced displays. The joint venture creates a best-of-both-worlds situation where Sony can focus on the media it produces and TCL can leverage Sony's brands and devices to gain an even greater edge against its competitors.
