Sony's television division might be responsible for some of the company's most legendary products – aside, perhaps, from the Walkman – but, in Sony's most recent financial results, the sales dropped behind cameras in terms of revenue.
Sony's published figures don't reveal profit and loss – just the income from sales in each division – but they show that the company's Entertainment Technology & Services (ET&S) division recorded 643,429m yen (about $4.1billion) revenue across Still and Video cameras and 624,264m yen (about $4 billion) from televisions.
This means that cameras have finally surpassed television and, in the (translated) words of Digital Camera Life, become "the pillar of the ET&S division".
Factoring in audio & video, cellphones, and 'other', the ET&S division of Sony picked up $15.4billion. That's what we might once have considered 'consumer electronics', but it includes related services. It's amazing that cameras are now leading these sales for Sony given the company's historical lead in TVs, but it has definitely been helped by the company's growth in the mirrorless era and relentless focus on addressing the needs of video (and vloggers).
It is fair to say Sony had a disruptive effect in cameras and successfully established itself against big rivals, but can it stay now Canon and Nikon are firing guns hard.
It is also unclear how much Sony wants to sell mass-market TVs. Sony still undoubtedly sells excellent TVs, with 'acoustic panel' tech, their premium sets are now A LOT more expensive than the competition, while only offering some better tech (some of our sister sites reviews say the Sony sets are better but not 'that much' better when they assess value). Sony also no longer manufactures its own panels, whereas we know Sony produce a lot of imaging sensors.
There is an overarching reason why this division of Sony no longer attracts all the attention though, and it's one that even cameras haven't overturned. In fact not even Sony Pictures or Sony Music make much of a dent compared to the $26.7 billion brought in by the Game and Network Sevices division (yes, PlayStation).
Drifting, a little, from the news, there was a time – even after the tube era – when Sony's TVs were sold at a slight premium but featured better tech and enticing ads.
The famous 'Color. Like No Other' ad is a highlight many still remember, connecting Sony's TV division's passion directly with creatives. Perhaps the TV team need to look to those days again?
It's also worth noting that Sony has just undergone a major relaunch of its TV range, with easier-to-understand names. The flagship Bravia 9 certainly looks tempting from previews.
Until then, horray for cameras!
Check our guide for the best TV for a computer monitor display.
