Sony is ceding control of its Bravia TV brand to China's TCL as part of a new "strategic partnership," the companies announced in a

joint press release

. The Japanese electronics giant plans to sell a majority 51 percent stake in its home entertainment arm to TCL, while retaining a 49 percent share. The joint venture is set to start operations in April 2027, pending regulatory and other approvals.

The new combined business will sell TVs carrying Sony and Bravia branding while using TCL's display technology. The partnership will also leverage Sony's picture and audio expertise, supply chain management and other areas of expertise. For its part, TCL will contribute its vertical supply chain strength, global market presence and end-to-end cost efficiency.

"By combining both companies' expertise, we aim to create new customer value in the home entertainment field," Sony CEO Kimio Maki said in a statement. "We expect to elevate our brand value, achieve greater scale and optimize the supply chain in order to deliver superior products and services to our customers," added TCL Electronics chairperson DU Juan.

The news will come as a shock to some, particularly in Japan, as Sony has been strongly associated with high-quality TVs since the Trinitron days. However, it's currently fighting in a low-margin TV business full of formidable competitors including Samsung, LG, Hisense and TCL. The company has already sold off or closed other electronics operations, including PCs and tablets, and is barely hanging in with its smartphone business.

Sony effectively stopped making its own LCD and OLED panels some time ago, while TCL has increased its own production — having recently

purchased

LCD Panel patents from Samsung and taken over its plant in China. Other Japanese companies like Toshiba and Hitachi have already exited the TV business, while some including Panasonic have a highly reduced presence.

The Bravia brand survived mainly thanks to customers willing to pay extra for high-end picture and sound quality, along with Sony's association to filmmaking and high-end camera gear. As I detailed in a

recent explainer

, Sony was a pioneer in many key flat panel breakthroughs, having developed LED backlighting, quantum dot technology and the first OLED TVs.