Sony’s future TVs may be produced by a new joint venture between Sony and TCL. In this partnership, Sony would own 49% of the business, while TCL would control 51%, making them almost equal partners.
This possible collaboration would be a major change for the TV industry. Sony is known for its premium TV technology, while TCL is one of the world’s largest TV manufacturers with strong production capabilities.
If the joint venture happens, TCL would likely handle more of the manufacturing, while Sony would focus on design, image quality, and software. This could help Sony reduce costs and stay competitive in the global TV market.
The news is being described as the biggest TV story of 2026 so far, even though the year has only just begun. If confirmed, it could significantly reshape how Sony TVs are made and sold in the future.
TCL TVs in Sony badges?
We are only three weeks into January, but this news has already surprised me. I did not expect something this big so early in the year, especially since Sony has not yet announced its 2026 TV lineup. Sony has been promising its new RGB TV technology for a while, and we expect it to arrive this year.
This possible partnership is an interesting move for the future. Because TCL would own a larger share of the joint venture, it would likely take the lead in manufacturing Sony TVs. However, Sony would still have a strong role in the business.
This does not seem like a situation where a famous brand simply hands everything over to another company, as happened with Toshiba TVs. In fact, similar partnerships can work well. For example, Philips’ OLED TVs in Europe are made by another company, and they are very good.
I hope Sony’s own development teams will still be involved. Ideally, the new TVs would continue to use OLED panels when needed, even though TCL does not use OLED in its own TVs. It would also be great to keep Sony’s Bravia XR processing and picture quality tuned to match Sony’s professional monitors, as it is today.
One possible outcome is that TCL mainly helps improve Sony’s mid-range and budget TVs by using its cost-effective manufacturing. Sony’s high-end TVs are famous for their quality, but its cheaper models often offer less value compared to competitors. Recently, brands like TCL, Hisense, Amazon, and Roku have become very strong in the mid-range TV market.
Another possibility is that the change could be bigger. Sony’s role might be smaller, and the TVs could end up being mostly TCL products with Sony branding and a few special features, such as PlayStation-focused functions.
It is also worth noting that TCL already makes display panels for many TV brands through its panel division, TCL CSOT. Because of this, TCL’s involvement in Sony TV production might not be very different from how things work today—depending on where Sony currently sources its panels.
Or the future could bring much bigger changes. If the new joint venture is officially confirmed around March, the earliest we might see TVs from it would likely be at CES 2027.
Either way, Sony fans are some of the most loyal and passionate TV fans in the world, so this year is going to be a very interesting one for them.
