Panasonic has announced today that it is returning to the US market after a long hiatus, initially with one miniLED LCD and two OLED ranges, including the flagship Z95A featuring MLA OLED and Fire TV.
In a pre-briefing attended by FlatpanelsHD, Panasonic described it as "once in a decade news", an apt characterization considering that Panasonic's TV division withdrew from the US market not long after its exit from the plasma TV market in 2014.
- "The United States is crucially important to us, and ever since we left ten years ago, it has been my mission to find a way to return. Today is the end of that long journey and the beginning of a new one to bring new choice to US consumers. From this year, we have started a global collaboration with Amazon so that new Panasonic smart TVs will have Fire TV built in. These TVs have already been launched in Japan, Asia, Oceania, and Europe and the response from consumers has absolutely exceeded our expectations. We are confident US consumers are also going to be thrilled with them," said Yasunari Anan, EVP of Panasonic Entertainment & Communication.
During the hiatus, Panasonic continued to compete in Europe and other regions with some of the best OLED TVs on the market, including models with MLA OLED technology. However, Panasonic has lost significant ground in the entry-level and mid-range TV segments.
The Amazon effect
The return to the US was speculated, as Panasonic announced earlier this year that it would abandon its in-house TV platform, MyHomeScreen, in favor of Amazon's Fire TV platform.
The switch to Fire TV means that Panasonic can offer access to almost all relevant streaming apps in the US from day one.
Starting today, Panasonic will roll out its flagship Z95A MLA OLED (65" only), the upper mid-range Z85A OLED (55-65"), and the miniLED LCD W95A (55-85") in the US. All three models were designed and developed in Japan by Panasonic, and tuned by Company 3 in Hollywood.
Panasonic's 2024 TV line-up for the US
Panasonic said that the 2024 models will be available in the US through Amazon, Costco and other dealers. They will compete directly with OLED models from LG, Sony and Samsung.
It is not the full 2024 line-up, but it is a start, with Panasonic initially focusing on the premium segment. You can compare the TV models and learn more in FlatpanelsHD's 2024 Panasonic TV line-up overview here. You can also read our first look at Panasonic's 2024 OLED Fire TVs here.
ATSC 3.0 update this fall
Paul Williams, Assistant General Manager at Panasonic Corp, said that Panasonic is now "in a position where we can start to expand again", adding that it will update the TVs to support ATSC 3.0 tuning in the US "this fall", along with a Calman Ready software update.
The only hardware change compared to the European versions is the remote control, which is black and has fewer buttons.
Stay tuned for FlatpanelsHD's in-depth review of the flagship Panasonic Z95A MLA OLED. You can sign up to our newsletter further down.
Panasonic 2024 US models – specifications
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