Sony’s Entertainment Focus Becomes Even Clearer; Shift Away from Consumer Products Marks Move Toward Entertainment

By Chika Nakayama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

7:00 JST, February 16, 2026

Sony Group Corp. has continually been downsizing its once stellar consumer electronics business and clarifying its shift to the entertainment industry, which includes games and music.

Last month, the company announced that it would spin off its television business. Following that announcement, it decided to end shipments of Blu-ray disc recorders.

Sony’s business restructuring is proceeding at a rapid pace, with nothing off-limits.

Withdrawal from Blu-ray

The announcement of the end of the shipments came on Feb. 9 via the company’s official website.

“We will stop shipping all models,” it said. “There will be no successor models.”

Blu-ray discs used to be a successful media format. In the 2000s, the technology competed for dominance with HD- DVDs, which were led by Toshiba Corp. Thanks to the backing of major American film studios such as Warner Bros, Sony won that battle and went on to expand its market share of high definition DVDs.

However, changes in consumer viewing habits have dramatically changed the situation. The spread of video streaming services and the rise of large-capacity storage drives has led to a decline in demand for Blu-ray discs. In February 2025, production of Blu-ray discs for recording was discontinued.

Nothing off-limits

Sony’s stance on business restructuring became clear when Hiroki Totoki, who became president in 2023, began serving as chief executive officer in April 2025.

At a briefing in February 2025, Totoki suggested that nothing would be off-limits when it came to rearranging the composition of the company’s portfolio.

“We see our portfolio as dynamic rather than static and will continually review it,” Totoki said.

The restructuring also extends to Sony’s former mainstay television business. In January, the company announced plans to separate its Bravia brand television business and transfer it to a joint venture established with Chinese electronics giant TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd. TCL will hold a majority stake of 51% in the joint venture.

In the fiscal year ending March 2025, Sony’s television business saw sales of ¥564.1 billion, down 40% from 20 years ago. The rise of Chinese and Korean rivals, whose low prices give them an advantage, was a major reason for the move, with Sony positioning the television business as an area in need of “structural reform and transformation.”

Intellectual properties

On the other hand, Sony has been accelerating efforts to strengthen its entertainment-related business.

In 2025, the company announced tens of billions of yen worth of investments in major publishing companies Kadokawa Corp., which own many popular intellectual properties, and Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. It will also bring Peanuts Worldwide LLC under its umbrella as a consolidated subsidiary. Peanuts Worldwide manages the intellectual property for the popular cartoon Peanuts, known for the character Snoopy.

Sony has been expanding its entertainment businesses, which cover games, movies and music. In the fiscal year ended March 2015, sales from these businesses made up about 30% of the company’s total sales. As of the fiscal year ending March 2025, however, that figure had reached about 60%. The company hopes to further increase earnings in entertainment by leveraging the various intellectual properties it holds.

Nevertheless, Sony still appears to have plans to continue strengthening its technological development in some areas.

“Even if it’s no longer in the form of consumer products, Sony will retain the technology necessary for entertainment,” said Waseda University Prof. Atsushi Osanai, an expert on the electronics industry.

Sony is expected to continue developing technologies in areas such as video devices and image sensors, as the company remains competitive in these areas and the technologies synergize with the entertainment sector.