Between them, Sony, Sharp and Panasonic lost $16.9 billion dollars last year. The business of producing TVs isn't what it was..
Just think about that £399 forty inch, web connected flat screen in the corner of your living room for a moment. Of that cost, £80 is tax. Another £120 goes to the retailer, and shipping it in a box, invariably from China, probably cost £10. That leaves £190 for the manufacturer to cover R&D, parts, manufacture, assembly and packaging. I suspect that many of these screens are sold at a loss.
So it's not surprising that more and more of these manufacturers are looking to launch content services in an attempt to emulate the razors and blades business model (or indeed the game console and games model).
Just think about that £399 forty inch, web connected flat screen in the corner of your living room for a moment. Of that cost, £80 is tax. Another £120 goes to the retailer, and shipping it in a box, invariably from China, probably cost £10. That leaves £190 for the manufacturer to cover R&D, parts, manufacture, assembly and packaging. I suspect that many of these screens are sold at a loss.
So it's not surprising that more and more of these manufacturers are looking to launch content services in an attempt to emulate the razors and blades business model (or indeed the game console and games model).