2026 media predictions from 16 anonymous CEOs

It’s time for everyone’s favorite holiday tradition – CNBC’s annual anonymous media executive forecast!

CNBC spoke with 16 of the most powerful and influential executives in American media, sports and entertainment, all of whom offered predictions for the year ahead, on the condition of anonymity so they could speak freely and make bold bets.

This year, we’ve divided the forecasts into three categories: M&A forecasts, sports forecasts, and miscellaneous forecasts. Before we get started, a few trends from last year’s list. (You can find the full list here.)

One executive predicted Comcast It will acquire the studio and broadcast assets of Warner Bros. Discovery and merged with NBCUniversal. Close! Comcast bid on those assets, but WBD ultimately chose an offer from Netflix. She now faces a hostile offer from… Paramount Skydance. More on that to come in this year’s forecast, as you can imagine.

Another executive predicted that 2025 would see many streaming TV mergers, and that was kind of the case – Tegna and Nexstar He announced the deal and Sinclair It has so far made an unsuccessful hostile takeover attempt E. W. Scripps.

Another predicted that a major technology company would acquire a video game manufacturer Electronic Arts. not bad. The buyer was not a major tech company, but EA sold the game to a consortium led by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and private equity firm Silver Lake.

One executive last year succeeded in doing just that. They said the Venu sports streaming service would never launch (it never did), and that Fox It will license its sports content to Disney ESPN (Fox has launched a package with ESPN for $39.99 per month that combines the two companies’ sports programming for those who stream).

Without further ado, here is this year’s list:

Executive 1: Paramount will buy all Warner Bros. productions. Discovery

Had to get this one out of the way. This executive predicted that Paramount would eventually convince WBD’s board of directors to cancel its deal with Netflix and sell the entire company to the Ellison family and their financial backers.

CEO 2: Apple will buy NBCUniversal

Now we get bold! This executive predicted that while Comcast CEO Brian Roberts loves the media business and wants to own and control the NBCU-WBD joint venture, he will have to accept that with Warner Bros. exiting. From the picture, he simply had no deal left. This executive said apple They both want and need to ramp up their media to stay relevant, and NBCU is the best prize available.

Frankly, it’s nice to hear M&A predictions for Apple that aren’t made by Disney.

CEO 3: Amazon or YouTube will buy NBCUniversal assets

In a similar vein, this executive said WBD will set a new, higher EBITDA multiple for its media assets. That could lead to Roberts now selling NBCU — or at least, Peacock and Universal, NBCU’s streaming and studio assets. However, this executive hedged his expectations and said that theme parks may or may not be part of a sale.

To avoid potential antitrust questions, this executive posited that a technology company might be allowed to operate a broadcast network like NBC if stations owned and operated by NBC were sold separately.

CEO 4: Paramount will lose WBD, divest CBS, buy NBCUniversal

Yes, the deal involving NBCU was very popular this round. If Paramount doesn’t end up with WBD, it needs a backup plan to scale up. NBCUniversal and Peacock would be a nice consolation prize, but regulators almost certainly won’t let Paramount own both CBS and NBC. So, this executive guessed that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison would ditch CBS (more on CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss later) and keep NBC to entice Roberts to sell.

CEO 5: Comcast will buy Roku

Not so fast selling NBCU, this executive said. Comcast still has one more step to make. Rocco The market value is about $16 billion. It’s a move Roberts could make that would both bring Comcast into national video distribution while also adding Roku’s media assets to NBCU.

Executive 6: Paramount will lose WBD and buy Main Street Sports

Here’s something interesting – this executive predicted that Paramount would acquire the company formerly known as Diamond Sports Group. This would make Paramount the owner of 15 regional sports networks (and part owner of YES Network), another way to push Ellison’s sports aspirations forward.

Executive 7: Both the men’s March Madness game and the College Football Playoff will be expanded next year

This isn’t the boldest prediction on the list, but it’s probably your best bet for results. The NCAA is considering increasing the number of men’s teams in the tournament from 68 to 76. The CFP may expand from 12 to 16 teams — or perhaps more. This executive believes that will happen in 2026.

Executive 8: The NFL will sign new and extended deals with its current media partners

Much ink has been spilled on the competitive threats that YouTube and Netflix pose to traditional media companies. An example of this threat is taking away live NFL games from broadcasters and ESPN.

This executive predicted the NFL will make sure that doesn’t happen by extending contracts with CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN and Fox in 2026. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC in September that he is open to starting those renewal talks as soon as next year.

Executive 9: Amazon will get a new NFL international package

Goodell talked about expanding the league’s international games to 16 games per season involving all 32 teams. This executive estimated that the league would shop this package of games next year to a single buyer, and Amazon Prime Video will supplement its Thursday Night Football package with a Sunday package of overseas games.

Executive 10: Acceleration of NFL media rights talks will also prompt MLB and NHL to postpone their talks until 2026

This CEO thought there was plenty of money available for major media companies. Instead of waiting for the NFL to close its deal in 2026 and having to live on what’s left, it might be better for the MLB and NHL to stay ahead of the NFL to maximize the value of media rights.

CEO 11: Traditional media companies will make steep cuts on linear network entertainment spending to survive NFL and other sports

It’s the same logic here when it comes to setting media budgets. This executive predicted that media companies will have to cut their non-sports budgets to handle the massive raise coming from the NFL — and the repercussions will begin in 2026.

EXECUTIVE 12: Both the WNBA and MLB will announce lockouts

The WNBA’s collective bargaining negotiations are already underway with a new deadline of January 9. Terri Carmichael-Jackson, executive director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, told CNBC this week that she was frustrated with the pace of the discussions.

MLB’s collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, 2026. This executive predicted that both leagues will experience lockouts as owners and players cannot agree on new CBAs in time.

CEO 13: Disney will name Josh D’Amaro as its next CEO, replacing Bob Iger at the end of the year

You knew there would be an expectation of a Disney CEO on the list. Disney is supposed to name Iger’s successor in early 2026. Josh D’Amaro runs the parks and resorts division and is considered one of two preferred candidates, along with Disney Entertainment co-president Dana Walden.

CEO 14: Marjorie Taylor Greene Becomes a Cast Member of ‘The View’

Hey, some of this stuff is outside the box! Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia announced in November that she would resign from Congress effective January 5. Her next stop could be ABC’s daytime talk show “The View,” according to the executive.

CEO 15: Barry Weiss will become the host of her new eponymous show on CBS

CBS News’ Weiss, who was named editor-in-chief in October, moderates the network’s town hall meetings, and has promised “more conversations like this in the coming weeks and months.” This executive expected Weiss to use this as a launching point for her own hosted show.

CEO 16: “In 2026, Hollywood will organize a mass boycott of ‘digital transactions’ after discovering they are irrelevant, irrelevant, and often inaccurate.”

I’m including this, word for word, so the “digital trades” (Puck, The Ankler, etc.) will have something to speculate about in their upcoming newsletters and podcast episodes. Who is the controversial Hollywood executive who made this reckless prediction? Free content, from me to you. Now that’s a Christmas gift!

Happy holidays!

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant will become the new parent company of CNBC based on Comcast’s planned spin-off of Versant.