Panasonic famously exited the North American TV market in 2016, much to the disappointment of its fiercely loyal, but admittedly somewhat small local fanbase there. Fortunately, the company returned to the U.S. market in 2024, ending a painful, eight-year drought that saw no new Panasonic TVs released at all, but not for Canadians.
However, that has finally changed, for this week the company announced that its TVs are now returning to Canada at last, exactly a decade after skulking off into the horizon.
The return has been facilitated by Panasonic’s partnership with the Chinese electronics giant Skyworth, which was announced in February of this year and will see the two companies collaborating on Panasonic-branded TVs going forward. Panasonic’s experts will continue to design and innovate, with Skyworth taking care of the manufacturing and distribution operation, and it’s this new reality that has brought the iconic Japanese brand’s products back to the Canadian market.
The bad news is that Canadians won’t be able to get their hands on Panasonic’s best TVs this year. Instead, the company said the Canadian Panasonic lineup will be led by the Z85C OLED TV and the W90C Mini-LED models, which are a tier or two below the company’s flagship TVs, the Z95B OLED and the W97C and W95C Mini-LED TVs.
In Canada, the Panasonic Z85C and W90C TVs will be sold in just two sizes – 55-inches and 65-inches, so it also means customers there won’t be able to purchase the largest versions of those models.
That said, it’s a good start, and if the Canadian relaunch goes well, we can expect to see Panasonic and Skyworth launch an expanded range in the country next year, including – hopefully – an upgraded OLED flagship, which didn’t arrive in any market this year.
Like in Canada, Panasonic’s U.S. 2026 TV lineup was a bit of a letdown really, not only because of the lack of a new premium OLED model. There, as elsewhere, Panasonic’s OLED range is led by the Z95B OLED TV, which carries over from 2025, when it first launched. It's still a fantastic TV, but it’s always a disappointment when we don’t get to see new hardware. Panasonic also failed to bring the new OLED 85C or this year’s premium Mini-LED models to the U.S., so the best new models available are the W85C Mini-LED TV and the W87C lifestyle TV, followed by the more affordable W80C, W75C and S65C TVs.
At least, if you live in the U.S., it’s now possible to head on up north and cross the border into Canada if you want to get your hands on the new Panasonic Z85C OLED TV, which is the company’s only new OLED model this year. It’s based on LG Display’s new OLED SE panel, which is a lower-cost alternative to its Primary Tandem OLED panels, capable of achieving 1,000 nits brightness. As for the W90C Mini-LED TV, this features a matte VA LCD panel with Mini-LED backlights. Both models support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, have HDMI 2.1 ports and run the Google TV platforms.
Skyworth USA’s vice president of sales for Canada, Terry Hatzis, said he’s very excited to bring back the company’s TVs to its “strong” Canadian fanbase. “Panasonic TV’s longstanding reputation for picture quality and reliability gives our retail partners and Canadian customers a brand that truly stands out and cuts through the noise,” he said. “We are very excited to bring back a trusted, high-quality brand with a strong Canadian following.”
