Pinewood, the upcoming streaming box being developed by Sonos, has been canceled. The Verge broke the news that Sonos’ leadership announced the cancellation to employees on an all-hands call last week. The streaming box was apparently close to release, and was slated to be one of the company’s biggest hardware launches of 2025.
The decision to shelve the project was reportedly made by CEO Tom Conrad, who took over from Patrick Spence at the beginning of this year. No further plans to enter the TV streaming space have been made public by Sonos, and employees have reportedly been told that the company is not focused on developing in the space “for now.”
The following was originally published February 6, 2025:
News broke late last year of a new streaming TV operating system in development, called Ventura. Among the most surprising information about the new operating system was word that Sonos would be using the technology to develop the company’s first-ever streaming box. We now have more information on the project, including its codename: Pinewood.
According to a report by The Verge, Pinewood is scheduled to release sometime this year, with a price point between $200 and $400, well above other products in the TV streaming space. Some of the device’s described features include the ability to “wirelessly transmit lag-free TV audio to the company’s soundbars and other Sonos products”, enabling the configuration of a surround sound system, and the ability to act as an HDMI switch.
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“Sonos plans to combine content from numerous platforms including Netflix, Max, and Disney Plus under a single, unified software experience,” writes The Verge. “Universal search across streaming accounts will be supported. We’ve seen similar efforts to mask the fractured nature of modern entertainment from Sonos’ soon-to-be rivals. But I’m told this is a cornerstone of Pinewood’s appeal.”
The following was originally published December 9, 2024:
A new streaming TV operating system has been announced by advertising technology giant The Trade Desk. Called Ventura, the operating system is expected to launch next year, and has Disney, Paramount, Tubi, and Sonos lined up as launch partners. Sonos has confirmed its part in the partnership, with Bloomberg reporting that Sonos will use Ventura to launch its own TV streaming box next year.
“At Sonos, we are committed to providing our customers with the very best home entertainment experience. We are excited to explore the integration of premium audio and video with The Trade Desk and the Ventura OS,” remarked Patrick Spence, Sonos CEO.
According to The Trade Desk, the benefits of the Ventura platform include:
- “A more intuitive, engaging user experience, including cross-platform content discovery, personalization, subscription management, and ultimately fewer (more relevant) ads.”
- “A much cleaner supply chain for streaming TV advertising, minimizing supply chain hops and costs – ensuring maximum ROI for every advertising dollar and optimized yield for publishers.”
- “Incorporating advances such as OpenPath and Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), Ventura will enable advertisers to value and price ad impressions across all streaming platforms more accurately, while finding relevant audiences with greater precision.”
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Lowpass has also reported on the partnership, saying that The Trade Desk has been quietly working on Ventura since 2019, and that Sonos is the first hardware partner to commit to the operating system.
“Under the arrangement, The Trade Desk is supplying Sonos with the core smart TV OS, and facilitating deals with app publishers, while Sonos is designing its own hardware, and customizing the user interface,” says Lowpass’ Janko Roettgers.
