Media Executives Share Their Predictions for 2026

This story was initially revealed in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly e-newsletter that explores the important thing themes shaping the media trade. You’ll be able to join it right here.The media trade spent a lot of 2025 reacting: to AI-driven visitors volatility, to shifting advertiser expectations, and to the collapse of acquainted playbooks. Waiting for 2026, a dozen media executives advised ADWEEK they anticipate a 12 months outlined much less by experimentation and extra by sorting: what scales, what doesn’t, and what audiences and entrepreneurs will really reward in an AI-saturated surroundings.Throughout the trade, the predictions converge round a number of core concepts.