Panasonic said it’s doubling down on the U.S. market, putting paid to rumours that it might exit the North American region for a second time that followed the announcement of its joint venture with China’s Skyworth.
In a joint press release, Skyworth and Panasonic said they’re launching an “expanded range” of TVs in the U.S. this year, including the company’s first-ever lifestyle TV.
Skyworth USA Vice President Jake Hirose said the lineup “expands the ways U.S. consumers can experience Panasonic TV – from our flagship OLED picture and sound to bright-room Mini-LED performance, lifestyle design and straightforward smart entertainment.”
Panasonic has largely sat on the sidelines this year, no doubt because it’s busy sorting out its new arrangement with Skyworth, which will take over the production, sales and marketing of Panasonic-branded TVs from next year. The arrangement is similar to Sony’s partnership with TCL, but while those two have formed a joint venture, Panasonic is framing its deal as a simpler “strategic partnership.” It says its experts will continue to have plenty of input in the development of its TVs going forward, so there’s hope it will continue to maintain the high quality the Panasonic brand is known for.
The company did not announce any new flagship OLED models this year, nor did it launch an RGB LED TV like most of its rivals – Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL and Hisense – have done. What will happen is that the Panasonic Z95B OLED, which debuted last year, will carry over as the flagship in this year’s European and North American lineups. The Z90B will also continue to be sold in Europe, but it wasn’t mentioned in the 2026 U.S. lineup.
As for the new models, the best of these seem to be the W85C Mini-LED TV and the W87C lifestyle TV. There are also more affordable W80C, W75C and S65C TVs launching this year. There was, however, no mention of the higher-end W97C and W95C Mini-LED models that debuted in Europe. So it really seems as if the North American market, which it only re-entered in 2024, is not Panasonic’s priority, at least for now.
Panasonic did announce one new OLED TV in February, namely the Panasonic Z85B, which is a mid-range television that’s likely to be equipped with LG Display’s lower-cost OLED SE display. But this wasn’t named in the U.S. lineup either.
Instead, Panasonic focused on the new W87C lifestyle TV, which is essentially a gallery-style TV, similar to Samsung’s iconic The Frame and Hisense’s Canvas TV. “The lifestyle-focused W87C introduces Art Time, blending the screen into a decorative feature when not in use,” Hirose said.
But let there be no doubt, the new TVs announced today are not even remotely high-end. The W87C will be sold in just one size, 55-inches, with a price tag of $600, Panasonic said. Meanwhile the W85C will come in 55-, 65- and 75-inch sizes, with the cheapest model starting at $550.
Hirose added that Panasonic’s 2026 models in North America will feature the Google TV, Fire TV and Roku TV platforms, in what appears to be a fairly scattergun strategy regarding operating systems.
