Investing.com — Several themes are set to shape the U.S. media landscape in 2026, with companies that combine global reach and exposure to growth areas such as sports and theme parks best positioned to benefit, according to UBS.
The bank said it continues to favor companies with the scale to compete in a streaming-driven media environment, maintaining Buy ratings on and . UBS pointed to Disney’s accelerating growth, led by improving streaming profitability and continued momentum in its parks business,.
Netflix remains well positioned “deal or no deal,” UBS analysts said, referring to the potential outcomes around , with sentiment expected to improve as its growth prospects, monetization opportunities and competitive moat come back into focus.
UBS also reiterated Buy ratings on and . The analysts highlighted Fox’s strong positioning in linear television through its sports and news focus, alongside cyclical tailwinds in 2026 from the World Cup and U.S. midterm elections.
TKO, meanwhile, was backed by rising cash generation from new media rights agreements, as well as additional monetization through site fees and partnership revenues.
A central focus is the outcome of competing bids involving Warner Bros Discovery, which the bank expects to come into clearer view in the coming months as the direct-to-consumer (DTC) market continues to rationalize around a handful of global players.
A Warner Bros combination with Netflix would create “a supercharged content offering, providing an immediate jolt to engagement and long-term monetization upside,” UBS analysts led by John Hodulik said, as deeper libraries and broader distribution lift viewership and pricing power over time.
That outcome would likely pressure shares, “as investors value the company based on its current asset mix and wonder what comes next,” the analysts added.
Meanwhile, a Paramount-Warner Bros deal would give the group the scale needed to “become a viable global streaming player,” UBS said, while also unlocking substantial cost savings. Management is targeting “$6B+ in cost savings or 11% of combined opex,” the bank noted, a level it views as meaningfully higher than in prior media mergers.
The analysts warned that legacy television would still drive roughly two-thirds of EBITDA for the combined company, though the transaction “may support a higher multiple if the value of building a scaled global streaming player outweighs declines in the legacy TV business.”
They also said further consolidation should support industry fundamentals over time, as the sector rationalizes around a few globally scaled services, enhancing pricing power and potentially lowering churn.
In the near term, UBS expects continued improvement in DTC profitability driven by price increases, spending cuts and a return to third-party content licensing, though progress will vary across companies.
Beyond M&A, UBS flagged the possibility of an early renegotiation of NFL media rights as a potential overhang for parts of the sector. Press reports suggest the league could revisit its current deals ahead of the 2029 opt-out, which would place the greatest pressure on networks with heavier sports exposure, while more diversified groups would be relatively insulated.
While historical fee increases have varied, the sheer size of NFL rights could limit the percentage step-up compared with more recent sports deals.
On advertising, the bank expects pressure in linear TV to persist even as major cyclical events provide a boost in 2026. The analysts said “core linear TV advertising revenues fell just
The Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup hosted in the U.S., and midterm elections should lift reported spending, though analysts cautioned that these events also crowd out demand for other programming.
Sports and news-heavy networks are again expected to outperform, with analysts flagging that “the bifurcation in advertising trends between network groups with high exposure to sports/news vs. greater general entertainment exposure continues to widen with each year.”
Meanwhile, cord cutting has slowed modestly. UBS projects that subscriber declines moderated to 5.4% in 2025 from 6.8% the prior year, helped by slimmer and more flexible video packages.
Even so, the bank continues to model roughly a 4% decline in industry affiliate revenues in 2026, with relative resilience at companies combining strong sports portfolios with growing streaming platforms.