Every year is an important year for TVs, but for some TV brands 2025 could hold some serious importance.
One such company is Panasonic. Earlier this year it was reported that Panasonic could be considering selling its TV division in the wake of a tough market.
I lamented this news earlier in the year as I believe that Panasonic make some of the best TVs – part of the problem is that you don’t get to see these TVs.
Panasonic’s problem over the last several years has been getting its TVs in front of its customers. Firstly, its release schedule is out of whack (for lack of a better term) compared to Samsung and LG.
Both the Korean companies launch their TVs earlier in the year – around April/May – while Panasonic announces some of its TVs at CES in January, but typically they don’t go on sale August and September.
That’s a long wait, and if you’re looking for a new TV, you’ll be minded to spend it on an LG and Samsung as by the time Panasonic launches its TVs, LG and Samsung have already discounted their offerings a few times.
That means there’s a significant price difference between Panasonic’s brand new TVs and its rivals, which then places pressure on Panasonic to indulge in discounts to be competitive, reducing any potential profit they might be able to make.
Secondly, and perhaps a bigger issue, is the place of sale. Panasonic’s TVs are sold at Amazon, but it takes a while for them to make an appearance. The Z80 OLED is a Panasonic TV from 2024 although according to a price tracker, it only went on sale at Amazon in February of this year.
You’re more likely to see a Panasonic TV at Richer Sounds and John Lewis, and while those specialist stores are undeniably helpful for those who know what they want, for most people out there, they’re more likely to shop elsewhere.
Panasonic has made some progress in this area and more of its more recent TVs are available in the likes of Currys, but this brings me to my third point.
It’s hard for us to advise you whether these TVs are good because access to review samples isn’t as abundant as they were pre-pandemic. And that’s not just a problem with Panasonic – that’s an issue with most of the bigger TV brands. Here at Trusted Reviews, we are looking at reviewing more samples – keep an eye out in the coming weeks for more reviews of Panasonic 2024 models.
While I suspect that TV brands don’t want bad scores to put people off buying their TVs, most TVs today are of pretty good quality. But the focus has moved towards shifting the more expensive tellies, as that’s where the profits can be made, even though the majority of consumers are interested in saving money with less expensive models. You can see where the cracks are forming in trying to unify these opposing ideas.
What Panasonic lacks is visibility, and in some ways it has been replaced by the likes of Hisense and TCL, who’ve made a concerted effort to push their less expensive TVs at price-conscious buyers. I’ve seen a few graphs of TV market share in the UK – Panasonic’s is a slice that’s smaller than you’d think for such a prestigious name.
I’m a big believer in Panasonic. They make quality TVs but they need to make more noise about them. The partnership with Amazon’s Fire TV has helped, as has the embrace of multiple user platforms such as Tivo and Google TV, and gaming features.
But it needs to do more of that and shout it from the rooftops. What it has is as good as any other TV brand out there. Otherwise, we might not see many more Panasonic TVs, and that’d be an absolute shame.
