Anonymous media executives predict major industry shifts by 2026, including Paramount potentially acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple possibly buying NBCUniversal, and significant sports and league contract changes, alongside leadership shifts at Disney and potential league lockouts.
Thirteen anonymous media and entertainment executives have made predictions for the industry in 2024. Some of the predictions include Comcast spinning off NBCUniversal and merging it with Warner Bros. Discovery, Bob Iger extending his contract as Disney CEO, Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo winning their campaign to join the Disney board, Dana Walden being named Iger's successor, Disney acquiring Candle Media and Kevin Mayer positioning himself as a top successor candidate, NBA rights going to Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Apple, ESPN renewing the College Football Playoff rights, local broadcast stations taking over local sports rights from regional sports networks, streaming services bundling together, RedBird Capital acquiring Paramount Global and naming Jeff Zucker CEO, CNN letting go of a top anchor to redirect funds to digital, Linda Yaccarino not lasting as CEO of X, and no movie surpassing $1 billion at the box office in 2024.