Media and Entertainment Digital Services 2025–2026 Market Insights™

December, 2025

This report identifies key demand-side trends in the media and entertainment industry that can help enterprises fine-tune their digital strategies. It also provides an overview of enterprise challenges in the industry based on Avasant’s assessment.

Why read this Market Insights?

The media and entertainment industry is being reshaped as AI becomes embedded across core operations, powering content creation, editing, recommendations, advertising, and compliance, while unified models enable real-time personalization across platforms. As privacy regulations tighten and third-party cookies decline, enterprises are prioritizing first-party data, secure data architectures, and strong consent frameworks to maintain trust and compliance. Monetization is shifting toward ad-supported streaming, free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels, and retail media, driving the convergence of content, commerce, and advertising through shoppable formats and retail partnerships. At the same time, rising competition and costs are accelerating the bundling, aggregation, and consolidation of services, with alliances and mergers enhancing scale, resilience, customer experience, and retention. Interactive engagement through gaming, esports, AR/VR, and phygital experiences is becoming central to strategy, supported by stronger verification, content provenance, IP protection, and fraud controls to ensure sustainable, brand-safe growth.

The Media and Entertainment Digital Services 2025–2026 Market Insights™ aids enterprises in this sector in identifying important market trends and challenges for any digital project they participate in.

Methodology

The industry insights presented in this report are based on our ongoing interactions with enterprise CXOs and other key executives, targeted discussions with service providers, subject matter experts, and Avasant Fellows, analyst insights from primary and secondary research, and lessons learned from consulting engagements.

Table of contents

About the report (Pages 3–5)

Executive summary (Pages 6–11)

    • Media and entertainment: Definition and scope
    • Key drivers and enterprise response
    • Avasant recognizes 24 top-tier providers supporting the media and entertainment industry in digital transformation.

Demand-side trends (Pages 12–17)

    • Enterprises are operationalizing AI-driven personalization with privacy-first data foundations across the media enterprise.
    • Media companies are enabling ad-supported and commerce-driven monetization through data-led, privacy-first advertising foundations.
    • Enterprises are driving scale and resilience through streaming consolidation and bundles.
    • Companies are delivering interactive and phygital fan experiences through unified immersive platforms across the media enterprise.
    • Organizations are building trusted and safe digital engagement through verification, consent, and content authenticity frameworks.

Future outlook (Pages 18–19)

    • Media and entertainment companies are shifting from legacy formats to digital‑first platforms, powered by AI personalization, ad tech, and immersive experiences.

Key contacts (Page 20)


Read the Research Byte based on this report. Please refer to Avasant’s Media and Entertainment Digital Services 2025–2026 RadarView™ for detailed insights on the service providers and supply-side trends.

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DISCLAIMER:

Avasant’s research and other publications are based on information from the best available sources and Avasant’s independent assessment and analysis at the time of publication. Avasant takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any error/omission or the accuracy of information contained in its research publications. Avasant does not endorse any provider, product or service described in its RadarView™ publications or any other research publications that it makes available to its users, and does not advise users to select only those providers recognized in these publications. Avasant disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. None of the graphics, descriptions, research, excerpts, samples or any other content provided in the report(s) or any of its research publications may be reprinted, reproduced, redistributed or used for any external commercial purpose without prior permission from Avasant, LLC. All rights are reserved by Avasant, LLC.

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