Club Benefits
Earlier this week, news broke that rocked the TV industry. Sony is spinning out its TV business and TCL — once a major competitor — will take on a 51% interest in the new company. The details of the deal are still being worked out, with the company eyeing April 2027 as its target operational date.
The Sony and TCL news comes at a time when competition in the TV industry is heating up. Both brands (as well as Hisense, LG and Samsung) are on the cusp of launching RGB LED TVs that are among the first of their kind. Separately, they’re the makers of some of the best TVs you can buy — but for mostly different reasons.
While all TV-makers share the goal of selling TVs, they operate with different philosophies. These differences between Sony and TCL are apparent in their hardware, software, pricing — the sum of their strengths and weaknesses. The question now is this: With a majority of the stake, will TCL squeeze the “Sony” out of Sony TVs?
A tale of two TV-makers
Sony’s primary Bravia TV lineup is typically composed of an array of finely designed, thoughtfully engineered TVs. Even lower-end Sony TVs that make use of simplistic display hardware often make up for their expected, performance-related shortcomings with excellent picture processing.
The brand’s higher-end TVs — like the incredible Sony Bravia 9 — blend this savvy attention to detail with premium hardware, like Mini-LEDs and OLED displays. Mid-range offerings split the difference in performance, but like the company’s entry-level and flagship models, mid-range Sony TVs also deliver superb picture processing and a ton of software-based features.
But an excellent attention to detail, a long list of enhancements and thoughtful engineering isn’t the only constant across Sony’s main TV lineup. These TVs are priced higher than just about everything else in their respective class, something that has historically saddled Sony with a pricey reputation.
How will TCL affect the 'Sony tax'?
TCL is the maker of some of the most value-forward Mini-LED TVs on the market. From a performance and price standpoint, its mid-range Mini-LED TVs in particular are fiercely competitive — they frequently deliver a terrific performance-to-cost ratio.
The brand’s top-shelf TVs are nothing to sneeze at, either. The recently released TCL QM8K is one of the brightest Mini-LED TVs we’ve ever tested, and in 2026, the company is launching the X11L SQD Mini-LED TV, the only TV to leverage something TCL is calling Super Quantum Dot technology.
TCL is the maker of some of the most value-forward Mini-LED TVs on the market.
Crucially, TCL’s main TV lineup is chock full of sets that are cheaper than their Sony-branded counterparts. The 65-inch version of the QM8K — which is, for all intents and purposes, a direct competitor of the Sony Bravia 9 — is currently about $1,000 less than its rival.
In this TV expert’s opinion, however, the Bravia 9 offers better picture processing (and overall performance) than TCL’s most recent flagship. The QM8K doesn’t come with as many customizable settings, nor do I find its overall design as pleasing as the Bravia 9’s, either.
I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. When the time comes — likely in 2027 — for the first batch of Sony and TCL TVs to hit shelves, will there be room for both Sony's attention to detail and TCL's competitive pricing?
There are only so many ways this can go
One way this could play out is that Sony’s Bravia branding is eventually tied to this joint company’s top-of-the-line models. TCL-branded models, meanwhile, could continue to compete with the more budget-friendly TVs from Hisense, Roku and Amazon.
In this scenario, I imagine that everything a Sony Bravia TV has come to represent — the exacting processing, the premium hardware and the professional-grade calibration — would be reserved for high-end sets.
That said, it would be massively disappointing (and ultimately bad for shoppers) if TCL’s 51% interest in this joint company eventually results in the flattening-out of Sony’s identity.
Sony TVs are my go-to recommendation for A/V enthusiasts.
Sony TVs may be pricier than their competitors, but they’re also my go-to recommendation for A/V enthusiasts and folks building dedicated home theaters. They’re the brand that prioritizes reference accuracy above all else, and the TV-maker that shoves the most amount of picture- and audio-related settings into their TVs. (Seriously, though — have you seen the amount of options in a Sony TV?)
We've a long way to go before we have a clearer understanding of the joint company's business strategy in the coming years. My hope is that there's room for both of these brand identities to exist alongside one another, with TCL's panel-manufacturing capabilities ultimately leading to more affordable TVs across the board.
One thing is certain: New TVs from both of these brands are on their way in 2026, and it's likely the last time they'll compete with one another.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
