SAN JOSE, Calif.—TiVo has announced that the latest release of Sharp Smart TVs Powered by TiVo are now available for purchase in the U.S.

At CES 2025, TiVo announced its entrance into the U.S. market with Sharp Home Electronics Company of America, marking a key milestone of the continued expansion of smart TVs Powered by TiVo.

The Sharp 55-inch QLED Smart TV Powered by TiVo is available now to U.S. consumers for purchase, including in-store at P.C. Richard & Son, ABC Warehouse, Electronic Express and more, as well as online, starting at $299.99.

“Consumers want easy access to their content without any hassle. However, many smart TV interfaces create friction that disrupts a seamless user experience,” said Geir Skaaden, chief products and services officer at Xperi, the parent company of TiVo. “We believe that TVs should deliver the right content to viewers at the right time and we are doing just that through TiVo OS. TiVo OS is solving for this friction by helping viewers find, watch and enjoy their favorite shows and movies quickly and with ease.”

Xperi noted that as part of the launch it surveyed 1,001 U.S.-based consumers to assess current feelings and perceptions towards smart TVs, as well as how consumers are using their current TVs.

The research found that image quality, presence of content and personal recommendations were the most common purchase influences overall, with the primary reason for purchasing a particular TV often boiling down to price.

Smart TVs have become a household norm. Yet, consumers predominantly choose smart TVs based on brand (48%) rather than platform even though the operating system platform directly influences how they discover and enjoy video content, the research found.

The research also highlighted ongoing consumer concerns about the difficulty of finding content on many TVs.

Smart TVs Powered by TiVo utilize a simple, easy-to-navigate user interface, providing consumers with a content-first experience that highlights unbiased, personalized content discovery, reducing search time through fewer clicks. TiVo OS is designed to help keep a consumer on their device in addition to allowing OEMs to own and maintain the relationship with the consumer, the company reported.

In addition, to help ensure that consumers have an exceptional experience, TiVo OS has partnered with leading content providers including Disney+, Max, Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and more. Disney+, Netflix and Prime Video were among the top 5 SVOD services used by the survey respondents.

PHILADELPHIA—The Xumo streaming joint venture of Comcast and Charter Communications said Sharp will introduce a new line of QLED 4K UHD TVs featuring the Xumo TV operating system. The TVs will launch in the U.S. this spring.

Sharp is now the fourth manufacturer producing Xumo TVs, joining Element, Hisense and Pioneer.

The TVs will be available in 50-, 55-, 65-, 75- and 85-inch screen-class sizes and are designed to make it easier for consumers to find content.

“Xumo’s platform is all about making streaming easy for customers—getting them to the content they want to watch faster and spending less time searching across apps to find something new,” Stephanie Cassi, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Xumo, said. “We believe that combining our intuitive user interface with Sharp AQUOS QLED creates a best-in-class viewing experience.”

[Also Read: More TV Tech Coverage of News From CES]

“As we continue to expand our presence in the U.S. TV market, we're looking to pair Sharp AQUOS QLED with an operating system that delivers a streaming experience that meets the demanding needs of today's viewers," added Jim Sanduski, president of Sharp Home Electronics Company of America. “Xumo is the perfect partner because they help unlock the overall immersive experience we'd like our customers to enjoy when watching our AQUOS QLED TVs.”

The Xumo TV experience is built on the entertainment operating system that powers tens of millions of devices from Comcast and partners worldwide. Key features include seamless content discovery, voice search and personalization.

In addition to the Xumo operating system, the Sharp AQUOS QLED TVs will offer a frameless, 4K UHD screen with Quantum Dot Wide Color Gamut technology, which enhances Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 content to look lifelike with near-perfect color reproduction.

The TV will also enable the pass-through of Dolby Atmos sound from supported content sources when connected to a compatible audio device.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Roku announced that for the second year in a row, the Roku Operating System (OS) was the number one smart TV OS sold in the U.S., citing NPD’s Weekly Retail Tracking Service data for January 3, 2021 through December 4, 2021.

Roku also announced that the company is hoping to build on that with a partnership with Sharp to bring a series of HD and 4K Sharp Roku TV models to customers in the United States in 2022. 

Sharp Roku TV models will come integrated with Roku OS, offering a customizable home screen, compatibility with the three major voice ecosystems and access to thousands of channels including over 200 live TV channels, the companies said. 

More details relating to availability and specs would be announced in the coming months. 

“Sharp, like Roku, is an award-winning, household known brand and we look forward to a productive partnership together in the US,” says Mustafa Ozgen, general manager and senior vice president of  account acquisitions at Roku. “We both firmly believe that the power and ease of use of Roku TV, combined with the Sharp brand promise of ‘simply better living’ makes an appealing combination for customers looking for a great TV experience.”

In addition, the Roku TV licensing program in Mexico will expand to include a total of ten brands, with the addition of Aiwa and HKPRO starting in early 2022, Roku announced.  

OSAKA, Japan—For the first time since 2015, U.S. customers will be able to purchase a Sharp designed and developed TV by the end of 2019. Sharp made the announcement as part of a new form of partnership with Hisense International American Investment Co.

Sharp left the U.S. market in 2015 due to troubled finances, signing a five-year licensing deal with Hisense. After being acquired by Foxconn in 2017, Sharp unsuccessfully attempted to buy back the brand. Sharp moved on to legal action, claiming patent violations and that Hisense was hurting the brand by marketing lesser-quality TVs. Sharp ended up dropping its legal actions in 2018.

This new partnership with Hisense brings the license back to Sharp, which says it plans to have its TVs available once again for U.S. customers in the second half of 2019.

In its official announcement, Sharp said it will “further accelerate transformation of its business to innovate the world with 8K/4K Ecosystem + 5G and AIoT.”