The end of the Sony era in TVs

The Vergecast

Vox Media Podcast Network

Tech News, News, Technology

4.3 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 January 2026

⏱️ 101 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nilay owns a Sony TV. He loves his Sony TV, and he's a little sad that it appears this era of Sony TVs is ending. He and David talk through the news of a new joint venture between Sony and TCL, before digging into OpenAI's new-fangled plan to make money (spoiler alert: it's ads!), and some new news about an AI gadget Apple may or may not be working on. Then it's time for the lightning round: Brendan Carr, Netflix, the Trump Phone, and much more. Further reading: The TikTok deal could finally close this week. Epic and Google have a secret $800 million Unreal Engine and services deal Sony’s TV business is being taken over by TCL What a Sony and TCL partnership means for the future of TVs OpenAI’s 2026 ‘focus’ is ‘practical adoption’ OpenAI releases a cheaper ChatGPT subscription Ads are coming soon to ChatGPT, starting with shopping links Opinion | A.I. Is Real. But OpenAI Might Still Fail.Apple is reportedly working on an AirTag-sized AI wearable Apple is turning Siri into an AI bot that’s more like ChatGPT FCC Targets Colbert and Kimmel in New Crackdown on Late-Night TV - The New York Times Bureau Provides Guidance on Political Equal Opportunities Requirement | Federal Communications Commission Free TV startup Telly only had 35,000 units in people’s homes last fall Microsoft wants to build 15 data centers in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin OpenAI says its data centers will pay for their own energy and limit water usage Netflix will revamp its mobile UI this year 600,000 Trump Mobile phones sold? There’s no proof. YouTubers will be able to make Shorts with their own AI likenesses Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for today's show comes from Zoom.
0:02.5	Work moves faster when everything works together.
0:05.7	That means meetings, chats, docs, and AI companion,
0:09.0	all supporting each other seamlessly.
0:11.2	Learn more at zoom.com slash podcast and zoom ahead.
0:19.8	Welcome to the Vergecast, flagship podcast of the AI 8K and 5G ecosystem.
0:25.0	Again, Neelai.
0:26.4	It's back, baby.
0:27.6	We're doing this again.
0:28.6	We're so close.
0:30.3	I'm your friend David Pierce.
0:31.5	Neilip Sal is here.
0:32.8	Hi, buddy.
0:33.6	Hey, man.
0:34.1	We have some local Neelai news again.
0:36.8	We're going to get to that later in the show. But there are very few times that the Vergecast and Neely's hometown intersect, and we need to celebrate them. Someone sent me a video of like an MLM grifter in my hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, making a video about how you should come join his MLM grift. And the video opened with, I just bought an office building in Racine, Wisconsin, which is just one of the least impressive things you can say. And then it was like a commission-only sales, like boiler room sales gig. I thought we should cover it. So here it is. That's the information I have for you. That's fantastic. I also love that your brand now has extended to Racine guy. Like this is good. This has been. Yeah. What are you talking about? The longer I live in New York, the more I'm from Wisconsin. That's just a dynamic that's been true for 15 years. Yeah, that's about right. All right. We have a lot to talk about today. We have some TV business to attend to.
1:28.3	We have a lot of AI stuff.
1:29.5	We have some gadgety stuff.
1:31.4	Brendan Carr, I assume, remains Brendan Carr.
1:34.7	We should say it right at the top, that we have some potentially breaking news either
1:38.9	while we're recording or between when we record and when you hear this.
1:43.7	Eli, there are two big things potentially happening like any minute now, right?
	...

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