[Exclusive] Olympics Delay Will Impede Rise of 8K TVs, Sony SVP Says
Wang Zhen
DATE:  Apr 02 2020
/ SOURCE:  yicai
[Exclusive] Olympics Delay Will Impede Rise of 8K TVs, Sony SVP Says [Exclusive] Olympics Delay Will Impede Rise of 8K TVs, Sony SVP Says

(Yicai Global) April 2 -- The postponement of Tokyo 2020 means 8K televisions will not replace 4K TV sets this year, Sony Senior Vice President Hiroshi Takahashi told Yicai Global in an exclusive interview.

The Japanese electronics giant will continue to promote the benefits of 8K to raise awareness despite the lack of 8K content available right now, said Takahashi, also chairman of Sony China.

Japan's government and the International Olympics Committee agreed on March 24 to delay the quadrennial sporting competition by around one year in light of the global spread of Covid-19, which has claimed over 45,000 lives worldwide to date.

Sony is about 90 percent back to work in China, where the outbreak was first discovered, Takahasi added. A major decline in domestically transmitted cases has allowed most manufacturers in the country to resume production, and Sony re-opened its factories on Feb. 10.

The global spread of Covid-19, however, is hampering its ability to produce at capacity, he said, noting that travel constraints are preventing workers from returning and factory closures in Malaysia and Thailand are limited raw material supplies for its China plants. Its Malaysia factories closed on March 18 and will not re-open until at least April 14.

Almost all of Sony's offline stores in China are open again, including those at the virus's epicenter in Hubei province, added Sony's consumer electronics President Xie Biao, but foot traffic has not yet bounced back to pre-virus levels. The firm is trying to team up with live-streaming marketers to deliver new consumer experiences, he said.

Sony China held its first online product release conference on March 31, where it unveiled a 75 inch 8K liquid crystal display TV and other new devices.

The company also spun off its products and solutions department, encompassing imaging products and solutions, home entertainment and sound, and mobile communications, by setting up a new firm named Sony Electronics yesterday. This will give the division more autonomy so it can respond faster to market changes -- a move Takahashi believes will improve development prospects in China.

Editor: James Boynton

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Keywords:   Tokyo 2020,Sony