Sony’s Early LCD Struggles and the Rise of BRAVIA

Inside the decade that transformed Sony’s TV business

In the early 2000s, flat panels were set to replace the bulky CRTs that had been dominating living rooms for decades. These new screens quickly became a cultural symbol of progress, showing up everywhere from tech magazines to TV shows and movies. For Sony, a company that had always been at the forefront of TV innovation, jumping into the flat-panel market was a new challenge. They’d invested a lot in plasma technology, but they were late to the LCD game. It would take them years of strategic shifts, technical hiccups, and key partnerships to finally claim their place in this new TV era.

Flat panels weren’t actually new by 2000—plasmas had already started the revolution a few years earlier. In 1997, Fujitsu and Philips launched 42-inch plasma TVs, while Sony entered the plasma game around 1999 with models like the PFM-42B1, a $10,000, 42-inch beast aimed more at corporate showrooms than homes.

In 2002, when LCD TV sales were expected to jump 80% from the previous year, Sony saw an oppor…