Just what is happening to Sony’s TV business is truly up in the air with different reports emerging on what seems like a weekly basis. It’s no secret that Sony’s TV business has been sagging the company for many years and has been largely to blame for the company’s continued annual losses. In fact, Sony’s television division has been unprofitable for eight years now! For its part, Sony seems to be doing everything it can to shed the weight of the business and start from a leaner base, which saw the company reduce its television line to 8 models down from the 20 that it held in the previous years. Sony has also sold its S-LCD business to Samsung who was its equal share partner in small LCD production. Sony even followed in the footsteps of Toshiba and Hitachi, who all jointly sold off their medium to large LCD plants to Japan’s government which formed a new entity called Japan Display with Sony holding a 10 percent stake. While many saw this as Sony throwing in the towel and beginning to transition away from the TV business, Sony’s new CEO and President, Kaz Hirai, has said that under the ‘One Sony’ strategy, that he will personal oversee the division’s operations in an attempt to restore it to profitability.

With Samsung now taking all the credit for entering the OLED business with larger sized television displays, despite Sony being the first to the market with an OLED TV, rumors began to circulate that Sony was getting back into the OLED TV business as well by partnering with Taiwan-based LCD display company, AU Optronics. Now, a new report further indicates Sony’s desire to enter the OLED business but instead points to Samsung as the OLED panel provider.

Wait, what?

If the reports are to be believed, Sony is indeed getting back to OLED television business which would help set the company apart from the likes of Vizio, Pioneer, and LG. With Samsung being the only other company who has fully thrown its weight behind OLED, Sony could stand to gain a lot by dramatically differentiating their television sets from the glut of TV options available. While die-hard fans might say blasphemy to such a move, considering how much havoc Samsung has caused for Sony in the television and smartphone market, I would simply point them towards Apple who is in many bitter lawsuits with the Korean giant. Despite this, Samsung still produces many components for Apple, like the flash memory A5 processors which are utilized in the iPhone and iPad.

In this case, Sony would be wise to go to Samsung as a customer and negotiate the best price possible, versus investing in factories, staffing and equipment needed to produce the OLED panels. By not being exposed to the manufacturing of the panels, Sony can better negotiate a price, shop competitors and let Samsung worry about production, costs and competition from other OLED manufacturers.

Discuss:

Should Sony build OLED panels in house or outsource it to Samsung?

[Via Yahoo Finance]