This is the end for the Japanese TV manufacturer. Toshiba will exit the US TV business in March, followed by “regions other than Japan”. You will still see the Toshiba brand in stores, but these TVs will be sold with no Toshiba involvement.

Will license Toshiba brand
Toshiba did not announce new TVs at CES 2015, and the company has now confirmed that it will pull out of the TV business in the US by March 2015. Toshiba will also pull out of all other regions except Japan in the coming months. The company blames a slowing growth in the market and “harsh price competition”.

- “Toshiba intends to transform its consumer TV business in regions other than Japan, replacing own development and sales with a brand licensing structure. The target date for completing the new scheme and concluding negotiations with candidates is April this year”


You will continue to see Toshiba-branded TVs in some stores. In North America, Taiwan’s Compal Electronics have licensed the rights to use the Toshiba brand on TVs, but Toshiba will have no involvement in the actual products. It appears that a similar brand licensing structure is considered for Europe.

Toshiba played a big role in the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war, where its HD DVD format eventually lost to Blu-ray, as well as in Canon’s promising SED TV technology that never made it to the market. In recent years, Toshiba has tried to use powerful CEVO processors in TVs.

This marks the end the Japanese TV manufacturer. Another Japanese TV manufacturer, Pioneer, exited the TV business several years ago, and Panasonic recently exited the plasma TV market, but is still selling LCD TVs.

- Source: Toshiba Japan