 | This article needs to be updated. (January 2020) |
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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
| Founded | 1917 Napa, California, U.S. |
| Founder | Edwin Pridham Peter L. Jensen |
| Headquarters | Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Products | Odyssey and its successors TVs Speakers Blu-ray and DVD players Dehumidifiers Heaters Air conditioners Headphones Batteries |
| Parent | Philips |
| Website | magnavox |
Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", stylized as MAGNAVOX or sometimes Magnavox in Australia) was an American electronics company. It was purchased by North American Philips in 1974,[1] which was absorbed into Dutch electronics company Philips in 1991. The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen, co-inventors of the moving-coil loudspeaker at their lab in Napa, California, under United States Patent number 1,105,924 for telephone receivers.[2] Six decades later, Magnavox produced the Odyssey, the world's first home video game console.
On January 29, 2013, it was announced that Philips had agreed to sell its audio and video operations to the Japan-based Funai Electric for €150 million, with the audio business planned to transfer to Funai in the latter half of 2013, and the video business in 2017.[3][4][5] As part of the transaction, Funai was to pay a regular licensing fee to Philips for the use of the Philips brand.[4] The purchase agreement was terminated by Philips in October because of breach of contract[6] and the consumer electronics operations remain under Philips. Philips said it would seek damages for breach of contract in the US$200-million sale.[7] In April 2016, the International Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of Philips, awarding compensation of €135 million in the process.[8] Magnavox brand name products are currently made by Funai and Craig Electronics under license from trademark owner Philips.[9]
- ^ "Magnavox Wholly Owned by North American Philips". The New York Times. 25 July 1975. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
- ^ Kornum, Rene. "The loudspeaker is 100 years old" Ingeniøren, 4 November 2015
- ^ Van, Robert. (29 January 2013) Philips Exits Consumer Electronics - The Source - WSJ Archived 25 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved on 16 August 2013.
- ^ a b "Philips to exit hi-fis and DVD players". BBC News. 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ "Philips exits shrinking home entertainment business". Reuters. 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ Philips to take legal action against Funai Archived 28 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Broadbandtvnews.com (25 October 2013). Retrieved on 9 December 2013.
- ^ Sterling, Toby; Mari Yamaguchi. "Philips Breaks off Deal With Funai". ABC News. Amsterdam. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ^ "Philips announces decision by ICC International Court of Arbitration in Funai arbitration case". Philips Electronics. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ "MAGNAVOX". Magnavox.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014.