When Is the Best Time to Buy a TV? A 2026 Holiday Guide

The 2026–27 TV sales calendar

The windows worth planning around, in order:

• Prime Big Deal Days (October 6–7, 2026): Amazon's fall Prime event. Most relevant for TVs sold mainly on Amazon, like the Roku Pro Series OLED and Fire TV models; competing retailers usually run sales of their own at the same time.
• Early November: "early Black Friday" sales start at most big retailers, and some of the season's best prices show up here rather than on the day.
• Black Friday and Cyber Monday (November 27 and 30, 2026): the broadest TV discounts of the year, across nearly every brand and size.
• December: some Black Friday prices return or hold for the holidays, and many retailers extend their return windows.
• January: brands announce their new lineups at CES, and retailers start clearing out the outgoing year's sets.
• Late January to early February: Super Bowl promotions on big screens, often the last good window before new models arrive.
• Spring (roughly March to June): the new 2027 models launch at their highest prices — the worst time to buy a new model, and a good time to grab a leftover 2026 set while stock lasts.

Is Black Friday really the best time?

For breadth, yes: it's the one window when almost every brand, size, and price tier is discounted at once. But it isn't always the lowest price for a specific model. The deepest cut on a given TV can come earlier, during a Prime event or an early-November sale, or later, in January clearance — especially for last year's models.

The practical approach: pick two or three models now, note today's prices, and set price alerts. If one hits a price you're happy with in October, buying then and leaning on the retailer's return or price-adjustment policy is often smarter than holding out for a doorbuster that sells out in minutes.

Watch out for Black Friday-only models

Some doorbuster TVs are special models made for the sales season, with model numbers you won't find in the manufacturer's main lineup. They can cut corners on panel quality, ports, or processing compared with similarly named sets. Compare the exact model number, not just the brand and size, and check that it matches a model reviewers have actually covered.

2026 model or leftover 2025?

Fall is when the 2025 versions of popular TVs get their final markdowns while stock lasts. Our rule of thumb from the 2026 vs 2025 guide: if last year's version of the same model is at least 20 to 25 percent cheaper, buy it; if the gap is under about 10 to 15 percent, buy the 2026 model for the longer software-support and warranty runway.

• LG: B5/C5/G5 are 2025; B6/C6/G6 are 2026.
• Samsung: S90F/S95F are 2025; S85H/S90H/S95H are 2026.
• TCL: QM7K/QM8K are 2025; QM7L/QM8L are 2026.
• Some 2025 models are still current: the Hisense U8QG, Sony Bravia 8 II, and Sony Bravia 5 remain in our picks.

How to tell a real deal

A big percentage-off badge isn't the same as a good price. Before you buy:

• Compare against recent price history, not the list price. Many "40% off" tags are measured against a list price almost nobody pays; a price-history tracker shows what the TV has actually sold for.
• Compare the same size of the same model — discounts are often uneven across sizes.
• Check who's selling it. On marketplaces, stick to listings sold by the retailer itself or the brand's official store.
• Open-box and manufacturer-refurbished sets can be good value if they come with a full warranty and a normal return window.
• Read the return policy. Amazon and other big retailers have historically extended returns on holiday purchases into January; confirm this year's terms before you rely on them.

What a good price looks like for our picks

Reference points from our October 5–6, 2026 research — not predictions:

• LG C6, 65-inch: $1,499.99 at LG.com on October 5 (launch price $2,699). Anything lower is a strong buy.
• Roku Pro Series OLED, 65-inch: $799.99 for Prime members on Amazon on October 6, during Prime Big Deal Days (list $1,199.99).
• TCL QM8L: around $1,300 at 65 inches and $1,500 at 75 inches on October 5.
• TCL QM7L: around $1,000 at 75 inches on October 5 — the inexpensive way to a very big screen.

Should you wait?

If your current TV works and you're in no hurry, waiting for Black Friday is reasonable, and waiting until January for clearance on a 2026 model can be better still. If your TV has died, or a pick on our list is already at or below the reference prices above, buy now — the difference between a good price today and a slightly better one in six weeks is usually smaller than it feels.