Evergreen buying guide
Best Time to Buy a TV: 2026–2027 Deal Calendar
Updated November 1, 2026 · 6 min read
The short answer
Black Friday — November 27, 2026 — is the single best day to buy a TV, with discounts forecast to peak around 23% off list price (Adobe). The Super Bowl sales in late January/early February are the second-best window. But you don't have to wait for either: there's a genuine deal window in almost every season, and the calendar below shows when each one lands.
The 2026–2027 TV deal calendar, month by month
TV prices follow the industry's product cycle more than the holiday calendar. Here's when each window opens and what to expect:
January
Post-holiday clearance plus CES. Retailers clear leftover holiday stock, and CES (early January) previews the new model year — current models begin their slow markdown.
February
The Super Bowl window. The roughly two weeks before the big game are historically the second-best TV deals of the year (Consumer Reports / Gap Intelligence).
March
New models arrive. Spring launches push previous-year sets into clearance — last year’s midrange OLED and Mini-LED models start dropping hundreds below launch.
April
Clearance continues. Leftover previous-year inventory gets deeper cuts as shelf space turns over to the newest lineups.
May
Memorial Day. Modest TV discounts inside broader appliance sales — worth a look, but not a peak window.
June
Prime Day. In 2026 Amazon ran Prime Day June 23–26 (four days), with Walmart, Best Buy, and Target running competing sales the same week. Real discounts, shallower than November.
July–August
Summer lull. Back-to-school season favors laptops, not TVs. Prices drift sideways — a good time to research models and set price alerts.
September
Early holiday previews. Retailers start teasing fall deals; modest dips as the holiday pipeline fills.
October
Prime Big Deal Days (October 6–7 in 2026). Treat these prices as your benchmark — that’s the number to beat in November.
November
The Black Friday peak. November 27, 2026: Adobe forecasts TV discounts hitting ~23% off list — the deepest point of the year. Deals build all month; don’t wait for Cyber Monday for TVs.
December
Holiday wind-down. Discounts settle to roughly 10–15%; late-December clearance can still surprise on leftover stock.
Why TV prices follow this cycle
The rhythm isn't random — it's driven by the model year. Manufacturers announce new lineups at CES in January and ship them through spring. Retailers then spend the rest of the year clearing previous-year sets to make shelf space, which is why last year's models get the deepest cuts: by Black Friday they're often hundreds below launch price with nearly all of the picture quality.
On top of that, panel costs fall year over year, so even current models drift cheaper over time. The practical takeaway: if you don't need the very latest panel, buying a well-reviewed previous-year set during any of the windows above is historically the best value in the store.
How to judge any TV deal, any month
A calendar tells you when to look. This tells you whether what you found is real:
- Check the 90-day price history. Judge every deal against the maker's list price and the product's recent price history (tools like CamelCamelCamel or Keepa), not the crossed-out “was” price on the page.
- Know the model year. A 2025 set at 30% off in March 2026 is clearance doing its job; a 2026 set at 10% off the same week is just a normal sale. Compare within the model year.
- Watch for inflated “compare at” prices. Some promotions lean on a made-up original price that never really existed in stores. If the price history doesn't support the discount, walk away.
- Set alerts and wait for your window. Pick your target model, set a price alert, and let the calendar do the work — the next window is rarely more than a couple of months away.
Going deeper: the Black Friday playbook
November is the main event, and it deserves its own guide. Our Black Friday TV deals 2026 guide covers the full price-drop timeline, expected discounts by screen size and TV type, the retailer calendar, and how to spot a real deal when the doorbusters land.
Frequently asked questions
What is the absolute best day to buy a TV?
Black Friday. Adobe’s 2026 forecast expects TV discounts to peak at around 23% off list on November 27 — the deepest point of the year for TVs. Our Black Friday TV deals guide has the full playbook.
Are Super Bowl TV sales really the second-best deals?
Historically, yes. Consumer Reports’ pricing analysis with Gap Intelligence found the roughly two weeks before the Super Bowl (late January into early February) are the second-best TV window of the year, as retailers clear post-holiday inventory.
Should I buy last year’s TV model to save money?
Usually yes, if you don’t need the very latest panel. When manufacturers launch new lineups in spring, previous-year sets clear through the year — by Black Friday they’re often hundreds below launch price with nearly all of the picture quality.
Do TV prices drop in the summer?
Modestly. Prime Day (June 23–26 in 2026) and the competing summer sales at Walmart, Best Buy, and Target bring real but shallower discounts than November — fine if you can’t wait, but not the year’s lows.
How far ahead should I start tracking TV prices?
At least 90 days before you plan to buy. Track the exact model with a price-history tool like CamelCamelCamel or Keepa, so you can tell a genuine discount from an inflated “was” price.
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