Vizio Inc.

Vizio Inc. (stylized as VIZIO) is a privately held, American company that designs and sells televisions and sound bars. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Irvine, California, United States.[3]

Not to be confused with Microsoft Visio.
Vizio Inc.
FormerlyV Inc. (2002–2004)
TypePrivate
IndustryElectronics
FoundedOctober 2002 (2002-10)
Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
FoundersWilliam Wang
Headquarters
Irvine, California
,
U.S.
Area served
North America, Japan, China, United Kingdom
ProductsOLED TV, 4K UHD TVs, LCD TVs, LED TVs, soundbars, surround sound systems, QLED TV
Revenue$2.5 billion (2019[1])
WebsiteVizio.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

History

The company was founded in 2002 as V Inc. by entrepreneur William Wang, with Laynie Newsome and Ken Lowe as founding employees.[4][5] By 2004, Wang changed the company name to Vizio.[6][7]

In 2006, the company's revenue was estimated at around $700 million, and in 2007 it was estimated to have exceeded $2 billion.[8] Vizio is known for selling its HDTVs at lower prices than its competitors.[3]

On October 19, 2010, Vizio signed a 4-year contract to sponsor U.S. college football's annual Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California, beginning with the 2011 Rose Bowl and ending with the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game.[9] When the Rose Bowl contract ended, Vizio signed a contract to sponsor the Fiesta Bowl making the official name the Vizio Fiesta Bowl.[10]

In late 2014, Vizio acquired Advanced Media Research Group, Inc., the parent of entertainment website BuddyTV.[11]

On July 24, 2015, Vizio filed with U.S. regulators to raise up to $172.5 million in an initial public offering of Class A common stock;[12][13] however, the IPO was never completed.[14][15]

In August 2015, Vizio acquired Cognitive Media Networks, Inc, a provider of automatic content recognition (ACR).[16] Cognitive Media Networks was subsequently renamed Inscape Data.[16]

In November 2015, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Office of the New Jersey Attorney General brought charges against Vizio, alleging it collected non-personal information on its customers and sold it to advertisers.[17][18] In February 2017, Vizio agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle the charges.[19][20][21][22] Additionally, the settlement required Vizio to delete the data it had captured and update its data collection practices. After the settlement, the company only collected data from TV units that opted in through disclosures.[23]

On July 26, 2016, Chinese electronics company LeEco announced that it would acquire Vizio for US$2 billion;[24] however, the acquisition was cancelled in April 2017.[25][26]

In 2018, Vizio launched a free streaming service called WatchFree, powered by Pluto TV, on its SmartCast platform.[27][28]

As of 2020, Vizio had 400 employees across the U.S. in states including California,[29] South Dakota,[30] Washington,[31] and New York.[32]

Products

Vizio produces television sets and soundbars and has previously produced tablets, mobile phones and computers. Vizio manufactures its products in Mexico, China, and Vietnam under agreements with ODM assemblers in those countries.[33]

Television sets

Television sets are Vizio's primary product category, and in 2007 the company became the largest LCD TV seller (by volume) in North America.[34] In February 2009, Vizio announced they would stop production of plasma televisions and would focus on the LED-backlit LCD displays .[35]

In March 2016, Vizio announced the release of SmartCast TVs that allowed users to control the screen from a tablet or mobile app.[36][37] The following year, Vizio relaunched its smart TV platform to include apps directly on the screen, including Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.[38][39] In 2018, Vizio released its first Quantum Dot LED 4K TV.[40] Vizio has added functionality for Google Assistant and Alexa-enabled devices, Apple Airplay2, Apple HomeKit[41] and gaming features for its SmartCast TVs.[39]

In 2020, Vizio released its first OLED TV.[42]

Sound bars

Vizio's sound bar products are named by series, including the V-Series, M-Series, and Elevate. Series names pair with suggested TV products.[43]

In 2013, Vizio released the Home Theater Sound Bar.[44] In 2018, the company released its first Dolby Atmos soundbars.[45] In 2020, Vizio released the Elevate soundbar, the first Atmos soundbar with rotating speakers.[44] At CES 2020, Vizio earned the CES innovation award product designation for the Elevate sound bar.[46]

Vizio's audio collection includes entry and mid-level sound bars that include surround sound, as well as premium versions.[47]

Past products

Vizio has previously produced other products in addition to televisions and soundbars. In 2011, Vizio introduced the Via Tablet and Via Phone, its first tablet and mobile phone products.[48] The following year, Vizio began producing laptops, creating a lineup of PC computers that came in ultrabook and notebook models.[49] Also in 2012, Vizio introduced several HD Android smartphones in Asian markets, including China,[50] and began selling the "Vizio Co-Star," a Google TV digital media player.[51] In 2013, the company released the Vizio Tablet PC, its first Windows 8 tablet.[52] The company stopped producing tablets and computers in 2014.[53]

References
  1. "Vizio". Forbes.
  2. On Marketing. "VIZIO on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies List". Forbes.
  3. Lawton, Christopher, Iwatani Kane, Yukari and Dean, Jason."U.S. Upstart Takes On TV Giants in Price War", The Wall Street Journal, 2008-04-15. Retrieved on April 15, 2008.
  4. "How Vizio conquered TV". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  5. AP, Chris Carlson / (2007-09-07). "Upstart Vizio is top flat-screen TV seller for now". msnbc.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  6. JournalNow Staff. "Vizio boss had vision: affordable flat panels". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  7. Beijing, Christopher Lawton in San Francisco, Yukari Iwatani Kane in Tokyo and Jason Dean in (2008-04-16). "U.S. Upstart Takes On TV Giants in Price War". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  8. "Focusing on the big picture gives Vizio edge in TV market". Los Angeles Times. 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  9. Chris Casacchia (2010-10-19). "Vizio Nabs Four-Year Rose Bowl Presenting Sponsorship". Orange County Business Journal.
  10. "Vizio signs up for Fiesta Bowl sponsorship". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  11. Roettgers, Janko (2016-02-24). "Google to Add Casting to TV Sets, Starting With Vizio (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  12. Newton, Casey (2015-07-24). "Vizio just filed to become a public company". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  13. "Vizio reveals how it secretly tracks what you're watching in IPO plan". Fortune. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  14. "Vizio's $2-billion sale to LeEco called off over 'regulatory headwinds'". Los Angeles Times. 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  15. "Are going-out companies paying too much?|Opinion|chinadaily.com.cn". usa.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  16. "To see why LeEco bought Vizio, look at the Chinese company's smartphones". Los Angeles Times. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  17. Angwin, Julia. "Own a Vizio Smart TV? It's watching you". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  18. Maheshwari, Sapna (2017-02-07). "Is Your Vizio Television Spying on You? What to Know". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  19. Visser, Nick (2017-02-07). "Vizio To Pay Millions After Secretly Spying On Customers". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  20. "Vizio agrees to pay $2.2 million to settle FTC's television-spying case". Washington Post.
  21. Tsukayama, Hayley. "Vizio TVs were spying on their owners, the government says". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  22. Henderson, Juliana Gruenwald (6 February 2017). "VIZIO to Pay $2.2 Million to FTC, State of New Jersey to Settle Charges It Collected Viewing Histories on 11 Million Smart Televisions without Users' Consent".
  23. "Vizio tracked and sold your TV viewing habits without consent (updated)". Engadget. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  24. "Chinese electronics firm LeEco will acquire TV maker Vizio for $2 billion [Update]". Ars Technica. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  25. "LeEco deal to buy Vizio for $2 billion falls through". CNET. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  26. "LeEco's abandoned Vizio acquisition is just the latest in a series of missteps". Ars Technica. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  27. Welch, Chris (2018-08-01). "Vizio is launching a free streaming service and giving it its own TV input". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  28. Katzmaier, David. "Vizio's new 2018 TVs: affordable, accent on picture quality". CNET. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  29. "How I Made It: He lost money as a young CEO. Then he founded TV giant Vizio". Los Angeles Times. 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  30. Dreeszen, Dave. "Vizio Direct leaves North Sioux for the Dunes". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  31. "7 highlights from Vizio's IPO filing". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  32. "Vizio creates new business unit to sell ads directly to marketers". Marketing Dive. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  33. "Vizio CEO Predicts Declining TV Prices, Possible IPO". WSJ.
  34. "Vizio tops in LCD TV sales in second quarter". CNET.
  35. "Another Manufacturer Drops Plasma". The New York Times.
  36. Roettgers, Janko (2016-03-21). "Vizio Gets Ready to Launch First TVs, Speakers with Google Cast (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  37. Patel, Nilay (2016-03-22). "How Vizio and Google radically reinvented the TV". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  38. Archer, John. "Vizio Unveils New High-Performance 4K TVs And Sound Bars". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  39. Spangler, Todd (2020-04-07). "Vizio Adds 30 Free Streaming Channels to Smart TVs". Variety. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  40. Gartenberg, Chaim (2018-07-24). "Vizio's 2018 flagship P-Series Quantum TV is now available for $2,099.99". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  41. "Vizio rolls out its Apple AirPlay and HomeKit integrations to its SmartCast TV platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  42. Pendlebury, Ty. "Vizio's 2020 LCD TVs bring quantum dots, more dimming zones, better gaming". CNET. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  43. Cipriani, By Jason (2020-06-30). "Vizio's 2021 lineup launches today, with its first OLED TV and Elevate soundbar arriving this fall". CNN Underscored. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  44. Chin, Monica (2020-05-05). "Vizio conquered the smart TV; now it wants to put Atmos in your living room". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  45. "Vizio debuts three soundbars with Dolby Atmos to complement its 2018 4K TVs". www.digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  46. "Digital Trends Top Tech of CES 2020 Award Winners". Digital Trends. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  47. Cohen, Simon (15 December 2020). "Vizio M-Series 5.1 soundbar shows up as a Costco exclusive for $300". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  48. Kane, Yukari Iwatani (2011-01-02). "Vizio Extends Battle Plan". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  49. D'Orazio, Dante (2012-06-14). "Vizio's new Notebook and Thin + Light unibody ultrabooks available today for $898 (hands-on)". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  50. H, Michael. "Vizio shows off new HD smartphones for China". Phone Arena. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  51. Bishop, Bryan (2012-01-10). "Vizio introduces Google TV-powered VAP430 media streamer (updated: $99?)". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  52. "Vizio debuts its first Windows 8 tablet, an 11.6-inch slate with a 1080p display, AMD processor". Engadget. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  53. "Vizio rethinking PC strategy in weak market". PCWorld. 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.