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Company type | Subsidiary |
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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 | North American Philips (1974-1987) Philips (1987–2025) Curtis International Ltd. (2025–present) |
Website | magnavox |
Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", often stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics company. It was purchased by North American Philips in 1974,[1] which was absorbed into Dutch electronics company Philips in 1987. 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]