Panasonic’s return to the US TV market in 2024 was both completely unexpected and a welcome surprise after nearly a decade-long hiatus.
Releasing one of the best OLED TVs last year (the Panasonic Z95A OLED) plus one stellar budget option (W95A Mini-LED), Panasonic made quite the splash for TV enthusiasts. And the Panasonic 2025 TV lineup could prove just as enticing if the specs are to be believed.
But evidence suggests the company might be eyeing the exits again. According to Nikkei Asia, Panasonic Group CEO and President Yuki Kusumi lamented its still struggling TV business in an online press conference in early February, which not only is fighting for air in the US TV market, but also at home in Japan. In a statement to Tom's Guide, Panasonic says it's still evaluating all its options for the time being.
Still, it’s a sad state of affairs, especially for a company once held in such high regard in the plasma TV era, but it's not too surprising given the sheer dominance of both LG and Samsung on a global scale. That's not even mentioning the ever-growing foothold of cheaper Mini-LED TV makers like TCL and Hisense. It would be a shame to see it all go, though, especially just as Panasonic TVs were set to get even more exciting with the inclusion of Thermalflow technology.
Here’s why Panasonic should reconsider its position and, if selling its TV business is the only option on the table, who it should consider as a potential buyer.
Rumblings of Panasonic’s second US departure
Let's be clear, Panasonic has not said one way or the other about leaving the market and, when reached for comment, told Tom's Guide that it's still up in the air. That said, the company's president didn't sound optimistic at the aforementioned virtual press conference: "We are prepared to sell if necessary, but we have not yet decided on a plan. Currently we do not think there is any company that will buy the business. We will consider various options."
According to Nikkei Asia, Panasonic is currently eyeing a restructuring plan, which would see its black goods (entertainment devices including TVs, cameras, and stereos) merged with its white goods division (home appliances and the like). This entertainment device sector under Panasonic only accounted for roughly 3% of its total sales in fiscal 2024, which is a drop in the bucket for a company that once held as much as 20% of the Japanese TV market.
We are prepared to sell if necessary, but we have not yet decided on a plan. Currently we do not think there is any company that will buy the business.
Yuki Kusumi, Panasonic Group CEO and President
Panasonic already sold off its automotive division in December and might be forced to divest other parts of its business. In its recent Quarterly TV Sets Market Tracker, Omdia Research highlights the steady rise of more affordable Chinese TV brands making major plays both globally and, most notably, state-side.
Unfortunately, Panasonic isn't doing much better against its domestic rival, Sony, and Korean TV giants, LG and Samsung. Panasonic managed to sell just 1.1m TVs in the second half of 2024, representing just a small fraction of global TV sales. In comparison, Panasonic's main competitors — Sony, Samsung and LG — controlled 5.4%, 28.3% and 16.1% of all TV sales, respectively.
Thus, it's clear competition is at a boiling point, and the competition isn't slowing down. Samsung and LG both announced several new cutting-edge TVs at CES 2025, including the Samsung S95F OLED and LG G5 OLED.
Although there's no direct indication of Panasonic's leaving the US TV market just yet, things are looking bleak for the award-winning TV maker.
Competition reigns supreme
Despite its losing battle with some of the top-name brands in the industry, Panasonic is home to a slew of fascinating innovation and its TVs are evidence of this. Just look at its Z95A OLED, which I hailed as not only one of the best gaming TVs to release last year, but among the best OLEDs, too.
It is, unfortunately, held back largely due to its reliance on the Fire TV ecosystem and some strange network issues, but if you look past these constraints you'll find one of the market's most boisterous designs. With its 160W power output on a 5.1.2-channel system, there's no doubt Panasonic's 2024 flagship OLED is a true beast in the sound department, and I'm of the mind more OLED TVs should copy it.
But that's not the only thing that makes the Z95A's audio stand out, as the robust 360 SoundScape Pro makes all the difference, letting you fine-tune its sound for any particular household. With SoundScape Pro, you can customize the audio output on the TV in a number of different ways, like isolating the audio in one particular place in your entertainment setup for the best possible sound in your favorite seat.
And even in the face of dire sales numbers, it's not done innovating. Panasonic's 2025 flagship TV, the Z95B OLED, could be yet another contender among the best OLED TVs as it combines LG's new four stack design structure with a new heat-dissipating technology it's calling "ThermalFlow." The technology takes inspiration from Formula 1 cars, aiming to improve performance by simply moving the subwoofer a few degrees for increased airflow efficiency.
Why is this special? It means the potential minimization of OLED burn-in, one of its scariest and most debilitating factors. It could also spell additional benefits for limiting power consumption and improved peak brightness, but we won't truly know how far ThermalFlow actually goes until the Z95B lands in our lab for testing.
In the midst of major manufacturers championing lackluster (and often unusable) AI enhancements, Panasonic is bringing to the fold some serious hardware-bound upgrades that could prove game-changing for the entire market.
That's why, even if Panasonic does pull out of the US and get sold off, I'm hoping these technological advancements can still find a home and not, like its plasma models of yore, gather mothballs in the pantheon of time.
Sharks in the water
There are several candidates I could see picking up the Panasonic TV business and absolutely running with it, especially if they don't just drop all of the innovation it has brought to the table in the last two years. I think the most obvious and realistic option would be Sony, which makes some of the best TVs.
I find Sony particularly ideal for this buyout due to Sony Interactive Entertainment, owners of the PlayStation brand. I've written at length about my dissatisfaction with Sony TVs for gaming, which rears its head in their incredibly high input latency. But Sony TVs also have several issues with HDR and tone mapping that largely goes unnoticed, and Panasonic's Z95A rectified these constraints immensely (not to mention that bombastic audio system).
Sony could keep its entertainment side of the TV business while leveraging Panasonic's newer TV technologies under the InZone brand, positioning those for PlayStation 5 gamers. It's already designing and releasing some of the best gaming monitors, and I wouldn't doubt adding some TVs to that side of its business would be stellar for buyers looking for an all-in-one display at the right price.
But given Sony's similar struggles in the market, LG might be the next-best fit. The best LG TVs tend to be titans for gaming in both console and PC workloads. I replaced my PC monitor with the LG C4 OLED, and saw a huge improvement in performance while video editing and gaming. LG Display's already supplying Panasonic with its OLED panels, so why not take it all if the option arises?
That's all assuming Panasonic even ends up selling its TV business, of course. And who knows, maybe 2025 ends up a breakout year for the brand in the face of its high-flying innovations? I'm hoping there's no end in sight for Panasonic TVs, but in this cutthroat industry anything's possible.
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.
