Panasonic has made the shocking revelation that it’s considering selling or scaling back its TV business, in an announcement that’s likely to be hugely disappointing to the company’s loyal fans.
The Japanese company is facing pressure in the TV market, and its President Yuki Kusumi said in an earnings call this week that it is “prepared to sell” the business if necessary, though it has not made any decisions yet.
Nikkei, which first reported on Kusumi’s comments, notes that Panasonic is one of the oldest TV makers in the world, with a rich history that stretches back to 1952, when it was still called Matsushita. It was one of the original Japanese TV brands, alongside the likes of Sharp, Toshiba, JVC and Hitachi.
The company has remained in the TV business all this time, but it is struggling to remain profitable due to a declining market share.
Its first TVs were the black-and-white picture cathode-ray tube (CRT) TVs that older readers may remember with some fondness, and it later emerged as one of the pioneers of plasma displays, earning plaudits for doing so. Later, it was forced to abandon plasma technology due to the shift in the industry towards OLED, 4K resolution and HDR images, though enthusiasts still swear by its legendary deep blacks.
In recent years, Panasonic has switched its focus to high-end OLED and Mini-LED TVs, and it’s generally agreed that its models are some of the best that money can buy, with its TVs often being used by Hollywood movie makers as master monitors for film production.
That’s because Panasonic’s OLED TVs excel in terms of their colour reproduction accuracy, thanks to its partnership with the Hollywood colourist Stefan Sonnefeld, and they also come with excellent motion processing capabilities. In addition, the company’s TVs offer advanced features such as automatic brightness adjustment and built-in Dolby Atmos surround sound.
Panasonic recently unveiled its newest OLED TV, the Z9B, which is discussed by HDTVTest's Vincent Teoh in this video:
Not everything about Panasonic’s TVs are so great, though, for its MyHomeScreen operating system is often viewed as being worse than LG’s webOS and Samsung’s Tizen platform, though these days its best TVs ship with Amazon’s Fire TV OS.
Despite its OLED TV and also its Mini-LED TVs being elite products, the company has long struggled to compete with LG and Samsung in the premium market. Meanwhile, in the mid-range and lower-end segments, it faces tough competition from hundreds of smaller brands, including many Chinese firms.
Oddly, Panasonic’s announcement comes after what many had interpreted to be a signal of its improving fortunes. Last year, it made headlines when it announced it’s re-entering the U.S. TV market, having exited about ten years earlier.
For now, it remains to be seen what will become of Panasonic’s TV business. Kusumi said no-one has yet shown an interest in buying it, and so the company will continue to explore options.
If the company does decide to sell, it’s possible that Panasonic’s TVs will continue to live on under the ownership of another electronics firm. However, a new owner would raise fears about a drop in the quality of its products, as they would likely alter the business model.
Alternatively, Panasonic could shutter the business completely and simply license the Panasonic brand to another TV maker – if that were to happen, they certainly wouldn’t be “real” Panasonic TVs anymore.
Kusumi said the TV business is one of four underperforming business units that the company is thinking about selling or revamping. He told investors that the company plans to take “drastic measures" regarding those businesses before the end of its new fiscal year, which finishes in March 2026.
Last year, Panasonic sold an 80% stake in its projector business to the financial services giant ORIX, and it could also explore a similar, part-sale like that for its TV business. That would provide more hope that it will continue to produce high quality products.
