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It's the end of an era. Japanese electronics brand Panasonic has announced that it's handing its TV business over to the Chinese company Skyworth. With the partnership in place, Skyworth will make and sell Panasonic-branded TVs for North America and Europe.
The move comes a few years after Panasonic made its return to the U.S. TV market following an eight-year absence. It’s also mere weeks after an announced Sony and TCL partnership rocked the TV industry.
For TV shoppers, the ramifications of this deal won’t be totally clear for quite some time, but here are the details you need to know — especially if you’re shopping for a TV anytime soon.
How will this deal work?
According to FlatpanelsHD, TVs will continue to carry Panasonic branding and continue to make use of the company’s TV technologies. Skyworth will handle the manufacturing and distribution of Panasonic TVs across Europe and North America.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, any reports of Panasonic’s demise in the TV market are greatly exaggerated. Panasonic will reportedly “provide expertise and quality assurance” in order to “uphold its renowned audiovisual standards.”
In addition, Panasonic has confirmed that the two brands will work together on “Top End OLED models,” so it’s safe to assume that the days of Panasonic-branded OLED TVs aren’t fully over.
2026 Panasonic TVs: outlook
As reported by TechRadar, the joint efforts of Panasonic and Skyworth will yield new OLED TVs in the United Kingdom and across Europe this year: the Z85C and the Z86C.
In addition, Panasonic showcased new QLED and Mini-LED TVs at its launch event in Munich, including the W95C and the W94C. It's not yet clear whether any of these 2026 models will make their way to North America.
For now, shoppers in North America can still buy Panasonic's 2025 TVs, as they've carried over into this year. This includes the Panasonic Z95B, a fantastic, top-tier OLED TV that we tested several months ago.
If you're in the market for a Panasonic-branded TV in particular, now might be the best time to take the plunge on a 2025 model like the Z95B.
Not only does it remain to be seen how the Skyworth partnership affects the joint venture's TV output, but many analysts are predicting a sharp rise in TV pricing this year as a result of ongoing economic conditions (like the RAM crisis).
As far as industry-wide implications go, this surprise announcement is yet another indicator that big-name, legacy brands like Sony and Panasonic have struggled to find their footing in a growing market.
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