The Best Time To Buy A New TV, According To Experts

Buying a new TV is a big investment, especially if you're interested in a premium model. These come with better picture quality on screen, but they also come at a high price. Nobody wants to see the TV they just bought get an even bigger discount the following week. So, even if you're searching for a basic model instead of a premium TV with OLED, QLED, or 4K, when you purchase it, is just as important as choosing a screen with the right specs.

Retailers are constantly shifting prices and offering deals on their products to clear out inventory, and some dates are packed with good sales. If you're planning to buy a new TV but it's not an urgent purchase, keep an eye out for the best sales opportunities. Black Friday and Cyber Monday present one of the best windows for these deals, but it's not the only one throughout the year.

If your goal is to save money and to avoid the common mistakes people make when buying a new TV, you'll also have to decide if you care about snagging the newest models from manufacturers. New models usually launch in the spring, which pushes last year's models down to more reasonable prices. These TVs still deliver good performance, but at a much lower cost.

Known as a time when most retailers run big sales on all kinds of products, Black Friday (and Cyber Monday three days later) stands out as one of the best times to buy a new TV. Accordingly to Consumer Reports, pricing trends show that November delivers the biggest TV discounts, followed by another drop around the Super Bowl.

While Black Friday is one of the best times to buy new products, customers should also carefully watch their target deal, since the price may vary at each store. Also, during these sales, it's common for retailers to have special offers (such as Doorbusters) on items like cheap smart TV brands that are ultra-affordable but may come with lower-quality components that aren't worth the investment.

However, if you're not willing to wait until Black Friday to buy a new model, or if you just need a new model urgently, the weeks leading up to the sales holiday in November are also a good time to purchase a new TV. Many retailers launch their best deals a week or two in advance, meaning you can also avoid some annoying messages about out-of-stock notices on popular models.

Alongside Black Friday, the first months of each year present another great opportunity for anyone searching for a new TV. Typically, major brands like Sony, LG, and Samsung announce the new version of their products at CES in January (like Samsung's new A.I.-powered portable projector), then release them between March and May. Chain stores with the best deals on TVs also tend to run new sales to make room in storage, lowering the price of older models considerably. If you don't care about incremental upgrades or the newest features, last year's TVs still deliver excellent performance at a better price.

The first days of February also stand out as some of the best times to purchase a new TV, especially because of the Super Bowl (according to Nielsen, the event drew in the largest audience for a single-network telecast in TV history in 2025). During this period, retailers combine clearance pricing on older models with marketing around large screens that are ideal for watching the game, allowing some flagship models to reach their lowest recorded price. It's a good opportunity to buy a new TV, even if you aren't interested in football.

In the end, the best time to buy a new TV depends on your patience and the urgency of the purchase. Those who can wait for major sales events or seasonal price drops can save hundreds of dollars without sacrificing quality or performance, or ending up with a low-rated model.