If you're watching telly through an antenna on a Sony flatscreen, you're about to lose a crucial viewing experience.
That's because Sony is stripping away several handy TV Guide features to watch over-the-air (OTA) channels on its Bravia televisions. The models impacted were manufactured between 2023 – 2025.
Sony said on their support page: "Starting in late May 2026, the availability of certain TV Guide (Program Guide) and display features will end on 2023-2025 BRAVIA TVs. We appreciate your understanding and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."
Bravia is Sony's premium line of televisions, known for its built-in high-end picture processing, cinematic sound, and smart integration using Google TV. It also aggregates content from various apps (Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, etc.) into personalised recommendations, offers a built-in Google Assistant for voice controls, integrates with other smart home devices to help become a main hub for your household, and more.
Here's everything the Japanese tech firm will be taking away from these televisions in less than a month.
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For starters, the thumbnail images that gave you a visual preview of programmes in your TV Guide will vanish from various menu sections, making it harder to quickly see what’s coming up next.
Your TV Guide will now only preview shows from the channels you've watched recently, so you won’t be able to scroll through everything available. Information on the show you're currently watching won't be included.
On your TV guide, thumbnail images that give you a visual preview of programmes will be disappearing from various menu sections
|SONY PRESS OFFICE
If you're using a set-top box with a Sony TV, there are even bigger changes.
The dedicated menu for your set-top box is being completely removed, replaced with a simpler control menu that offers fewer options and less flexibility. Here's the full list of TVs that will be affected by these changes:
- 2025: BRAVIA 8 II (XR80M2)
- 2025: BRAVIA 5 (XR50)
- 2024: BRAVIA 9 (XR90)
- 2024: BRAVIA 8 (XR80)
- 2024: BRAVIA 7 (XR70)
- 2023: A95L series
The Sony Bravia 8 II was only just released last year, featuring high-end picture processing, cinematic sound, and smart integration using Google TV.
|SONY PRESS OFFICE
Sony hasn't provided a reason as to why they're removing these features, and customers are not happy.
One reddit user wrote, "This sucks. I use OTA. Especially handy when there are carriage disputes between the networks and the providers."
Another said, "So my antenna is near worthless now thanks."
What's making viewers even more cross is that some of these affected tellies only hit the shelves last year.
On Reddit, one user wrote, "This was the reason I was about to buy a Bravia 8 over lg. I want the better tuner and OTA features. Boy, they are missing the mark on this decision."
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If you're unsure if you have a TV model that's been affected, you can usually find it tucked away in your settings menu or printed on a sticker on the back or side of your set.
To check your TV's settings, follow these instructions:
- On your remote, press the Home button
- Navigate to Settings → About → Status / Product Information (wording may vary slightly by model).
- The model name and number should be displayed