Sony has caused a bit of uproar with the news of a forthcoming “update” that’s going to remove a ton of features and functionality for Bravia TV owners that rely on antennas and set-top boxes.
In an update to its support pages, the company said that it intends to alter its service in “late May 2026,” and that users can expect some rather disappointing changes.
Cord Cutters News was the first to spot the update, which warns that anyone using an antenna is going to suffer. Specifically, the update mentions that “programme information may not appear depending on the channel,” before adding that “only programmes from recently watched channels may be shown.” In addition, it says that channel logos will no longer be displayed in the program guide, and thumbnail images in programme descriptions will also go missing.
For set-top boxes, users will be hit even worse. According to Sony, the set-top box menu is going to disappear entirely, to be replaced by a more simplified “Control menu.” In addition, they will also no longer see thumbnails in the menu.
Sony said the changes are going to be felt on quite a few of its TVs, including the popular A95L QD-OLED TVs from 2023 and the Bravia 8 II (pictured) and Bravia 5 from last year. The 2024 Bravia 9, Bravia 8 and Bravia 7 TVs will also be affected. It’s likely to frustrate a number of users, because those TVs are expensive pieces of kit and still relatively new models. For instance, the 55-inch Bravia 8 II cost £2,999 when it was first launched less than a year ago, and to lose those features so soon is quite unbelievable, if we're going to be honest.
Sony hasn’t said why it has made these changes, but Cord Cutters News speculates that it’s likely to do with the costs of providing these program details and images to users. It seems that the company has decided that it’s not worthwhile, likely because only a minority of Bravia TV users rely on antennas and set-top boxes. Nonetheless, it’s a fairly significant minority. A survey by Ars Technica of 2,200 U.S. adults last year showed that 19% still use an antenna with their smart TVs. Moreover, a second survey that year revealed that 26% of the 2,200 respondents used a set-top box as their “default device” for watching TV. Those users likely attach a set-top box or antenna to get access to apps and services not available through the Sony TV itself, and will now suffer from a sub-par experience when using those services.
News of the removed functionality was not particularly well received by Bravia TV owners on Reddit. One user, named NewsCards, accused Sony of “penny-pinching” in order to “save a few bucks” on features that 19% of its customers use. Another redditor called tuppertom added that they will likely “stroke Sony off of my shopping list,” as a result of the company’s decision.
Despite the changes, the Sony Bravia 8 II remains one of the top TVs of 2025, thanks to the superb image quality of its QD-OLED panel and Sony's advanced image processing technology, as described by HDTVTest's Vincent Teoh:
