Thomson launched a new Google TV streaming dongle just over two weeks ago, but you’ll be lucky to actually buy one, for the company that operates the brand has abruptly declared bankruptcy.
With more than 36.6 million euros of debt (£31.75 million), Austria-based parent company StreamView GmbH has decided to shut up shop, and confirmed that it won’t be making any effort at all to try and rescue its business.
It’s a surprising and disappointing announcement, for Thomson has been making a name for itself in Europe for its quality TV dongles, particularly after Google decided to abandon its own Chromecast streaming sticks.
Indeed, Thomson had only just announced its latest dongle earlier this month with the debut of the Thomson GoCast 152, which comes with a generous 32GB of storage and a more powerful chipset than the one found in its predecessor. The company also debuted a new streaming box, called the Thomson Google TV Streaming Box 245 (4K), in March, giving users a compelling alternative to Google’s own TV Streamer and the Nvidia Shield set-top box. But alas, those products are going to be very difficult to source in future as existing stocks get sold out.
StreamView, which acquired the Thomson brand several years ago, had seemingly made a bit of a name for itself in the European market. In addition to its streaming devices, it also sells a number of Google TV sets, including this massive, 100-inch Direct LED model and also a couple of premium Mini-LED models in smaller sizes.
But for whatever reasons, not all was well behind closed doors, and the company officially filed for bankruptcy in a Vienna court on April 14. That request has now been granted, and it has officially gone out of business. In its filing, StreamView listed reasons including trade barriers, rising costs and problems with one of its Chinese partners for its growing debts. It’s likely that the company is a victim of the rising component prices and trade tensions that have rocked the global economy in recent months.
The company said in its court filing that it’s not planning to come up with a restructuring plan, which means it’s not going to make any last-ditch effort to save itself, like Loewe famously did a few years back.
However, there may still be some hope for a revival. While StreamView operated the Thomson brand in Europe, it did not actually own it. Rather, the actual owner is a U.S. firm called Established Inc., which acquired the 133-year-old French company in early 2024.
In its own statement, Established reassured StreamView’s consumers that it’s making “all efforts to ensure continuity of after-sale services and client satisfaction while the group is identifying a new trusted partner for Europe."
In other words, Established is now actively searching for a new partner to fly the flag for Thomson going forward, but it remains to be seen if any new owner will emerge. And even if it does find someone, there’s no guarantee it will continue making TV products.
