Sony is set to remove a cluster of live television features from several Bravia models in late May 2026, a change that will hit households using antennas, cable feeds and set-top boxes harder than those relying mainly on streaming apps. Official support notices published across Sony markets say the cutbacks affect Bravia sets sold in 2023, 2024 and 2025, including the A95L series and newer Bravia 7, 8, 9, 8 II and 5 models. The changes centre on the programme guide and Sony’s TV menu. For viewers receiving channels through an antenna, Sony says programme information may no longer appear on some channels, the guide may show only programmes from channels watched before, channel logos will disappear and thumbnail images in programme descriptions will no longer be available. For set-top box users, the dedicated set-top box TV menu is being removed and replaced with a control menu, while programme thumbnails in that menu are also being dropped.
That leaves many buyers facing a narrower feature set on televisions that, in some cases, are still positioned as premium products. Sony’s US support notice lists 2025 models such as the Bravia 8 II and Bravia 5, 2024 sets including the Bravia 9, Bravia 8 and Bravia 7, and the 2023 A95L series among those affected. Regional notices indicate that the exact impact varies by market and by how channels are delivered, but the broad direction is the same: less information on-screen for those who still use broadcast or pay-TV hardware alongside smart-TV functions.
Sony has framed the move as a change to display features rather than channel availability. Its notices state that the channels themselves are not being removed. That distinction matters, but it is unlikely to calm viewers who use an electronic guide as the main way to browse linear television. For those users, logos, thumbnails and fuller listings are not cosmetic extras. They are shortcuts that make channel surfing faster and help identify live programming at a glance.
Bravia users face slimmer live TV controls. That is the practical effect of the update, and it lands at a delicate moment for television makers. Manufacturers have spent years steering buyers towards app-based viewing, ad-supported streaming channels and integrated smart-TV ecosystems. Yet millions of homes still use aerial feeds for free-to-air channels or connect operator boxes for sport, news and bundled television packages. Sony’s decision underlines the tension between a streaming-first product strategy and the expectations of viewers who still want hybrid televisions that treat broadcast and external boxes as first-class features.
The issue also raises a wider question about the life span of software-led features on consumer hardware. Buyers often assume that guide tools, visual menus and device integration are part of the television they paid for, especially on premium sets. Manufacturers, by contrast, increasingly treat such functions as service layers that can be modified, simplified or withdrawn. The frustration expressed in technology coverage of Sony’s notice reflects that gap in expectations, particularly because some of the affected sets were launched only a short time before the announced changes.
Sony has not offered a detailed public explanation in the support notices for why these functions are ending. The company’s messages are brief, apologetic and focused on what will change rather than the rationale behind it. That has left room for industry speculation that the shift may reflect licensing costs, maintenance burdens or a broader push to simplify interfaces around streaming and Google TV-style aggregation. None of those explanations has been formally set out by Sony in the notices now circulating across its support sites.
For consumers, the immediate concern is not abstract strategy but day-to-day usability. Antenna viewers may find the guide less useful for planning what to watch. Set-top box users may need to rely more heavily on their operator’s own interface rather than the television’s menu layer. Households that split viewing between broadcast channels, pay-TV boxes and streaming apps could end up with a more fragmented experience on devices marketed partly on convenience and integration.
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