State of Influence 2026 - Media & Entertainment

Media & Entertainment
Influence Index 2026

106
Brands ranked
Global
Coverage and 20 markets
1.1M
Conversations
118K
Creators

The top 100 media and entertainment brands generated $63B in total Earned Media Value in 2025, up +7% YoY, but growth is highly concentrated, YouTube’s dominance is cracking, and TikTok is rewriting how entertainment influence actually works.

Download the full index to find out who’s winning, why TikTok grew +70% while YouTube declined, and what it means for your brand.

Key Insights

Earned Media: What The Data Shows

$63B
Generated in EMV from Top 100 brands
7%
YoY growth in media & entertainment EMV compared to 2024
31%
Video streaming saw the largest sub-sector YoY growth
74%
Of total EMV came from the top 10 brands

The top media and entertainment brands are paying close attention to these numbers. Get the complete picture including platform breakdowns, brand rankings, trend signals and more in our free report:

Brand Rankings

Top 100 Media & Entertainment Brands Ranked

Explore our interactive ranking of the Top 100 media and entertainment brands globally – filter by country, sub-category and key metrics.

Top Influencers

The Creators Leading in 2026

Explore the top media and entertainment influencers by content niche – ranked by EMV.

Platform Spotlight

Where Earned Media is Won

YouTube remains the dominant platform by EMV but is declining sharply (-11.3%). TikTok is the standout growth story with a 70.1% surge – and its EMV per post of $46.4K 2x Instagram’s, suggesting highly efficient content performance despite lower overall volume.

*TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube logos are trademarks of their respective owners. Use of these logos does not imply endorsement or affiliation of this report.

Trends

What's Shaping Media & Entertainment in 2026?

Graphic Design Tutorials emerged as the highest growth trend at +9% EMV YoY, and was driven primarily by YouTube, which grew from $19.6M to $22M and accounted for nearly 79% of total EMV for the format.

The content resonating most was long-form, tool-focused tutorial content — walkthroughs, creative process breakdowns, and software deep-dives — the kind of educational format that plays to YouTube's strengths and attracts highly engaged, intent-driven audiences.

Explore all key trends
Graphic design tutorial trend
Total EMV $28M
EMV Growth +9% YoY

See What 1.1m Conversations Reveal

This report gives you a detailed breakdown into what's driving media and entertainment in 2026:

  • Stats and insights on the top brands and trends shaping audio streaming, video streaming, and content creation
  • How each platform plays a unique role for your brand strategy
  • Signals which are defining media and entertainment for the year ahead

Explore Verticals

State of Influence Index Reports

Further Reading

Cultural Events and Insights

(Oscars) Beyond the Ceremony: Influential Voices Generated £248M in EMV for Netflix, Apple TV and HBO

The Oscars have long been defined by the red carpet, but in 2026, the story extends far beyond it.

While the 98th Academy Awards drew 17.86 million viewers across ABC and Hulu, down 9% year-on-year, the cultural impact of the ceremony moved in the opposite direction. Earned Media Value (EMV) surrounding the top five films on social media surged by 230%, while reach increased by 131%.

The implication is clear. Audience attention is not disappearing, it is redistributing from live broadcast to social media. And within that shift, a new layer of influence has become impossible to ignore – creators.

While the ceremony itself remains one of the most powerful cultural stages globally, the way its moments travel, scale, and generate value is being fundamentally reshaped by the creator economy.

For platforms like Netflix, Apple TV and HBO, whose films saw the most success at this year’s awards, engagement and EMV spiked greatly.

Golden Globes 2026: How Luxury Brands Won Across Press, Talent, and Social

Deconstructing where luxury impact actually comes from.

Awards season remains a critical moment for luxury brands – but the Golden Globes 2026 data shows that impact is shaped less by presence and more by how value is generated.

Brand Winners of the Cannes Film Festival 2025

The 78th Festival De Cannes was a masterclass in purpose-driven storytelling, earning a collective €316.8M in earned media value (EMV). Here we look at the brands who led the way this year.

 

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