The media industry is evolving at breakneck speed, and at intive we're seeing it firsthand. Based on the projects we're building right now, we've identified four trends that are coming on strong and expected to take center stage in 2026. This isn't about buzzwords or vendor hype. It's about the actual shifts happening in news organizations, production studios, and streaming platforms that will impact how media companies operate, compete, and connect with audiences.
Trend #1: AI Takes a Big Role in Post-Production and Discovery
Despite the hype, we’re not expecting AI agents to take over full creative workflows in 2026. What is emerging is strategic adoption in areas where automation brings immediate business value.
And the Winner Is… Content Re-Generation
The most compelling AI adoption we're witnessing is in content re-generation, especially in sports and news. Rather than producing new material from scratch, companies are beginning to rely on AI for highlight creation, trimming, and summarization: the type of repetitive work that consumes hours of editorial time after every game or broadcast.
This shift helps restructure production costs: editorial teams stay focused on high-value content while AI accelerates the routine tasks.
Vertical Video and the Doomscrolling Generation
AI is also intersecting with changing audience habits. Younger viewers increasingly expect short-form, vertical content built for continuous scrolling. Media organizations are starting to automate the creation of vertical cuts from traditional 16:9 libraries, making decades of archive material discoverable again in modern feed formats.
Human-like Conversations for Better Discovery
Helping users find the right content within increasingly large catalogs remains a challenge across media platforms, from streaming services to digital news organizations. But early deployments of agentic AI chatbots suggest that platforms are moving beyond prediction towards natural conversation.
Instead of guessing what users want, these systems will let users articulate their needs through actual interaction. For instance, at intive we’ve built a conversational news discovery agent for a well-known publishing company, allowing users to begin with broad topics and refine results through dialogue, as the system adapts responses based on intent, preferences, and interaction patterns.
As media companies streamline the path to relevant content, early signals suggest this guided discovery can keep users engaged longer and ultimately reduce churn.
Trend #2: Fewer Players, Bigger Stakes
The streaming wars are entering a new phase: platform consolidation. We’re already seeing signs of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances that point to fewer platforms with broader catalogs and more complex technical integrations. Netflix’s stated intention to acquire Warner Bros. reflects this shift.
The Economics of Consolidation
As consolidation accelerates, many production companies face pressure from boards to increase revenue. That's driving experimentation with ad-supported tiers, even on subscription platforms, with the impact it has on user expectations.
We're likely to see more platforms adopt hybrid models: premium ad-free tiers for high-value content, and ad-supported tiers for cost-conscious users.
It’s a delicate balance: leaning too heavily on ads risks nudging some users back towards piracy, which has resurfaced as content fragments across more services.
Cross-Platform Discoverability
To help users navigate expanding catalogs, platforms are beginning to expose their content libraries beyond their own apps. By trading data for visibility, media companies are letting OTT operators and connected TV ecosystems power cross-platform search and recommendations, allowing users to find titles based on actors, genres, or themes across multiple services.
Content Synergies and Brand Preservation
As consolidated platforms unify backend infrastructures, they must still preserve the brand identities that matter to audiences. Many are exploring white-label approaches that deliver differentiated front-end experiences while relying on shared technical foundations. This can mean running multiple OTT brands across regions and devices within a single ecosystem, paired with data-driven personalization and engagement mechanisms – an area where our teams at intive are actively delivering today.
Trend #3: Rights Management in a Dynamic Marketplace
With content moving more fluidly across platforms, rights management is becoming a strategic priority. Two challenges are emerging simultaneously: managing dynamic licensing deals and securing content as it circulates between services.
Short-Term Syndication and Dynamic Licensing
We're moving away from long-term, static licensing deals towards dynamic, data-driven syndication. If analytics show content isn't performing in a specific market, companies want the flexibility to pull it quickly. Conversely, if there's surging interest in specific content, there's opportunity for targeted, short-term licensing deals, even regional ones.
Imagine AI agents monitoring search behavior, identifying trending titles unavailable on your platform, and initiating syndication negotiations with rights holders. This versatility creates opportunities, but demands sophisticated rights management infrastructure.
Content Security: Forensic Watermarking and Blockchain
Since traditional DRM has limitations, platforms are strengthening content protection through forensic watermarking and blockchain verification.
- Forensic watermarking embeds unique, invisible identifiers directly into the video frames. Each syndication partner receives a distinct signature, enabling precise tracing if content is leaked or redistributed without authorization.
- Blockchain verification helps creators prove the authenticity of original content. Immutable vectors stored on the blockchain act as proof that the video wasn’t altered, offering a trust signal for newsrooms and documentary producers navigating an environment filled with manipulated or AI-generated media.
The AI Ethics Battleground
As editing tools incorporate capabilities like voice cloning and lip-syncing, questions around creative control and oversight are becoming more urgent.
The efficiency gains are obvious: there's no need to recall an actor for a single line replacement. But what if editors overuse this capability? What if what "comes out of an actor's mouth" is no longer under their control? We're entering territory that will require company-owned governance.
Trend #4: Social Integration – Where the Real Action Is
Younger audiences won’t just watch content: they’ll engage with the conversations surrounding it. In some cases, comments become as important as the content itself. Platforms are exploring ways to incorporate social dynamics, such as reactions or recommendations based on what the user's network is watching.
Sports streaming has led the way here, with integrated polls, community predictions, and even betting platforms. But for SVOD platforms, especially those handling narrative content, social features need careful design to avoid spoilers, negativity, or experiences that undermine the brand.
Redefining Metrics
Success metrics are evolving. Binge behavior may signal strong engagement, while fragmented viewing patterns may indicate the opposite. Platforms are also beginning to treat social media sentiment as a real-time focus group, using these signals to inform marketing strategies and even creative decisions during production.
What This Means for Media Leaders
From implementing AI-powered post-production workflows to building rights management platforms that scale with dynamic syndication, at intive we're helping clients build the technical foundation that makes these trends actionable.
If you’d like to explore how these shifts connect with your specific challenges, our media team is always happy to connect.
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