Panasonic slashing TV production, calling time on plasma TV?
Panasonic are rumoured to be slowing down their TV production, and considering pulling the plug on plasma TVs altogether.
According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Panasonic will gradually pull back TV production over the next three years, and could even stop plasma TV production altogether as soon as 2014.
A quick look at Panasonic’s books however show that it’s hardly a surprising move. The company has struggled in recent years, with the TV division failing to turn a profit for the past five quarters. It’s thought that Panasonic will instead refocus its efforts on the automotive and enterprise divisions, as well as in-flight entertainment systems, an area where they are proving more successful.
There’s been suggestion that Panasonic would be pulling plasma production to a halt for some time now, with rumours suggesting the company had stopped pumping money into its plasma research and development centres some time ago.
For home cinema enthusiasts however, this will still come as a great loss. Once Pioneer gave up their plasma production and the stunning Kuro line was discontinued, Panasonic plasmas were the next best thing. With Panasonic now looking to remove themselves from the market, and AV enthusiasts still insisting that Plasma TVs offer the best picture quality, it’s not certain where they’ll now turn to for their TV fixes.
