Swimming in a sea of red, Panasonic is the bloodiest yet. A $10.2 billion annual loss. That’s not just bad, it’s insanely bad. 

But again, they’re hardly alone. Reports Tim Kelly and Yoko Kubota for Reuters:

Together, Panasonic, Sony and Sharp Corp expect to lose $17 billion this year, highlighting the savaging of Japan’s electronics industry by foreign rivals led by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, weak demand and a strong yen.

$17 billion. And the underlying subtext here is that all are (were) key players in the television set industry. The low-margins and competition finally caught up to these guys. To some, this will raise more questions about Apple entering the industry. But to me, this signals yet again that they need to enter it. The system is in disarray. Ripe for disruption.