Panasonic, once revered for its plasma TVs, is giving up on making its own TV sets. Today, it announced that Chinese company Skyworth will take over manufacturing, marketing, and selling Panasonic-branded TVs.
Skyworth is a Shenzhen-headquartered TV brand. The company claims to be “a top three global provider of the Android TV platform.” In July, research firm Omdia reported that Skyworth was one of the top-five TV brands by sales revenue in Q1 2025; however, Skyworth hasn’t been able to maintain that position regularly.
Panasonic made its announcement at a “launch event,” FlatpanelsHD reported today. During the event, a Panasonic representative reportedly said:
Under the agreement the new partner will lead sales, marketing, and logistics across the region, while Panasonic provide expertise and quality assurance to uphold its renowned audiovisual standards with full joint development on top-end OLED models.
Panasonic also said that it will provide support “for all Panasonic TVs sold up to March 2026 and all those available from April.”
Skyworth-made Panasonic TVs will be sold in the US and Europe. In the latter geography, the companies are aiming for double-digit market share.
Panasonic’s wavering TV business
Panasonic has been wavering on its commitment to the TV business for at least 12 years.
When plasma ruled the living room, Panasonic dominated the market. In 2010, Panasonic controlled 40.7 percent of the plasma panel market, beating Samsung (33.7 percent) and LG (23.2 percent), according to research from consultancy DisplaySearch. But in March 2014, Panasonic quit making plasma TVs, pointing to increasing interest in flat-screen LCD TVs and economic challenges derived from the bankruptcy of global investment bank Lehman Brothers. At the time, Panasonic reportedly hadn’t made money off of its popular, high-contrast plasma TVs for years.
That same year, Panasonic started reducing the amount of TV business it conducted in the US. By 2016, it had completely exited the US TV market.
In 2021, Panasonic revealed that it would outsource all TV production to an undisclosed third party. This seemed to help increase flexibility and finances. And in 2024, Panasonic returned to the US market with OLED and Mini LED TVs “all designed and developed in Japan.” Still, in February 2025, Panasonic’s president, Yuki Kusumi, said that the firm was “prepared to sell” its TV business “if necessary.”
With the Skyworth deal, Panasonic appears to have found a way to drastically reduce the amount of resources it puts into its TV businesses, while still making some money off of Panasonic-branded TVs.
The news means there’s virtually no TV production happening in Japan anymore, as other Japanese companies, like Sharp, Toshiba, Hitachi, and Pioneer, have already exited TV production. Earlier this year, Tokyo-based Sony announced that it was selling 51 percent of its home entertainment business, including TVs, to Huizhou, China-headquartered TCL. This all comes as TV manufacturers from South Korea and China control the majority of global TV sales.
During the launch event where Panasonic announced its Skyworth partnership, it reportedly showed off two OLED TV prototypes, including one using LG Display’s newest Tandem WOLED panel. So, it may not be long before we see new TV designs carrying the Panasonic logo.
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