Sonos has scrapped its long-rumored streaming video player, codenamed “Pinewood,” according to a new report from The Verge. Instead, their interim CEO Tom Conrad has decided to shift focus back to Sonos’ core audio products. Makes sense, right?
This decision follows a rocky period for Sonos, including the departure of CEO Patrick Spence earlier this year and widespread criticism of a botched app revamp.
The cancellation of Pinewood has broader implications, particularly for The Trade Desk and its smart TV operating system, Ventura. TTD had been rumored to work with Sonos on their device, with it featuring Ventura OS. Spence was even quoted in TTD’s initial announcement about the OS.
Why This Matters:
From the outset, The Trade Desk’s foray into building a smart TV OS has been ambitious. Unlike Roku, Amazon, or Google, which have well-established consumer streaming businesses, TTD, a B2B adtech company, was relying on Sonos to run Ventura as its inaugural OEM partner and serve as a use case for its OS. Now, without that, it’s unclear which hardware manufacturer—if any—will be the first to roll out a Ventura-powered television.
For what it’s worth, The Verge notes that a Sonos spokesperson reaffirmed the company’s “long-standing relationship with The Trade Desk” but did not clarify whether this extends to Ventura OS post-Pinewood. Tough situation all around.
Experts React:
Some noteworthy posts on X about the nixed Sonos device and the impact on TTD:
Our Take:
In January, we wrote this in relation to the changes that were occurring at Sonos:
Also, does TTD have a strong relationship with the interim CEO? Not sure. TTD is TBD, I guess.
Clearly, that was a bit prescient. The turmoil at Sonos was bound to have some fallout. Unfortunately for TTD, this bad news comes on the heels of other rough stories this month and a still-lingering earnings miss.
That said, TTD has the resources and influence to pivot. The big question now is: will another smart TV maker step up to integrate Ventura (who?), or does TTD need to rethink its approach entirely?
