Sony is imploding in the 4K TV market with consumers deserting the brand in favour of Samsung, LG and Chinese brand Hisence despite a multimillion dollar investment in the 2014 Soccer World Cup.
GFK data reveal that despite the 2014 World Cup being sponsored by Sony and the event attracting millions of viewers in Australia the Japanese Company was unable to outperform Chinese brand Hisence.
In week 31 Hisence had 12.5% share of the Smart TV market Vs Sony’s 9.8% share.
In week 27 which was when the 2014 was wrapping up Sony Smart TV sales slumped to 4.4% share.
Overall Samsung is still the market leader with 53.7% share, LG has 22.5% Sony 7.4% and Hisense 9.8% share.
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| New Hisense 4K TV |
Management at Sony Australia have refused to comment on the latest GFK data however insiders at the Japanese Company claim that they don’t have answers to the slump.
The Company who employ questionable PR executives once banned SmartHouse and ChannelNews when we wrote about the Companies poor performance, slump in sales and record losses.
At the time the then head of Sony Australia PR Jenny Geddes screamed down a phone demanding that we take down a story that highlighted how the Company was going about laying off 20,000 staff, at the time we were told that we had to take the story down or we would be banned.
We chose not to take the story down.
Now another publication Appliance Retailer has been banned after Sony PR executives demanded that an interview with Carl Rose the former CEO of Sony Australia be pulled down from their web site and from their magazine.
Rose who exited the Company along with the Companies CEO after the Australian Tax Office hit Sony Australia with $32M in fines and back tax payments.
Sony PR executives and their long time PR Company Hausmann appear to only be interested in “positive spin” and “free PR” said one journalist who also faced the wrath of Sony PR executives said.
Sony’s TV woes follow multimillion dollar marketing campaigns around the world during the Soccer World Cup, even the offer of a free giveaway Sony PS 4 failed to attract consumers to the struggling TV brand.
During the past 12 months Sony has been desperate to take a leadership role in the 4K TV market.
Sony tested its 4K technology in 2013 at FIFA’s Confederation Cup. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil three World Cup matches were filmed and broadcast in 4K in the UK.
Britain’s BBC streamed 4K content, but only as part of a small, internal test of 4K TV’s.
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Now Sony’s multimillion dollar bet on the World Cup appears to have fallen in a heap for the Australian subsidiary.
Sony needed the World Cup to work for them, declining global TV sales had led to massive losses for the Japanese Company.
With an audience of more than three billion, the World Cup was the grand stage for Sony to revive their TV woes. Now GFK data is revealing that not only did the World Cup not work for Sony they have come out of the event in a worse position than prior to the World Cup kicking off.
