Forecast 2026: Tailwinds, Consolidation & Reclaiming the Magic of Media
At Forecast 2026, Randy Michaels opened the morning with a story about twin boys — one a pessimist sitting glumly in a room full of toys because they’ll “probably break,” the other happily digging through a room full of horse manure because “there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere.”
For broadcasters, the manure is real — regulatory pressure, fragmentation, rising costs, and unrelenting digital competition. But the pony is real too. Three themes emerged as genuine bright spots or “ponies” for 2026: powerful revenue tailwinds in politics and sports, long-overdue deregulation paired with new consolidation, and a push to rebuild the fundamentals that once made media great.
- A Triple Tailwind for 2026
Panelists agreed that 2026 won’t resemble a typical revenue year. Politics, sports, and premium live events will combine to create unusually strong momentum.
The political cycle alone is likely to shatter historical spending levels. Beasley’s Tina Murley shared that her teams aren’t waiting for national dollars to filter down; they’re already in local markets talking to candidates, attending community events, and identifying opportunities early.
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Sports will bring their own surge. With both the Winter Olympics and a home-continent FIFA World Cup, demand is already building. One of the clearest takeaways from the sports sessions was the advantage of predictability. Nexstar’s Sean Compton pointed to NASCAR as the example: when races were spread across multiple networks, ratings slipped. When the CW consolidated 33 Xfinity races in one place, ratings jumped 10% simply because fans knew where to watch.
And with surging demand comes higher expectations. Buyers want cleaner transactions, faster turnarounds, more flexible buying options, and clearer data. In a year where inventory will be scarce and time-sensitive, optimizing every piece of inventory won’t be optional.
- Consolidation & Deregulation: A Reshaped Industry
If 2026 brings financial tailwinds, it may also deliver structural ones. Throughout the day, leaders voiced growing confidence that the FCC will modernize long-standing ownership rules, particularly those allowing for ownership of two Big Four TV stations in a single market. Broadcasters view this not as empire-building but as survival in a world where digital competitors scale rapidly and cost structures rise every year.
NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt reminded attendees that the current rules were built for a world with three TV networks and no internet. If broadcasters are expected to deliver essential services like local news, emergency information, and civic coverage, they need updated ownership standards that reflects the realities of 2026.
Radio and television executives stressed that consolidation done well strengthens the industry. Yes, it removes redundancies. But it also frees organizations to reinvest in journalism, community presence, research, and culture — the areas that differentiate broadcast in the first place. Cox Media Group’s Rob Babin described their model as “local scale,” an approach that allows for investment into deeper local engagement rather than simply cutting for efficiency.
As ownership groups grow, their operational needs grow with them. Larger teams require unified systems, centralized sources of truth, sharper multi-market sales processes, and consistent pricing and inventory visibility. As groups scale, their technology must scale with them.
- Reclaiming the Magic of Media
The most passionate conversations of the day focused on culture and rebuilding the fundamentals that once made media powerful.
Connoisseur Media’s Jeff Warshaw argued that radio’s initial response to digital disruption weakened the industry. “If somebody gave me a case study that said, ‘You’re in the radio business, and now you have a new competitor, digital’… would you cut your sales force in half? Would you stop doing as much local programming? Would you start running twice as many commercials? Would you stop doing as much training, research, promotion?… that’s exactly what our industry has done.”
He also pointed out that work-from-home has been damaging for a business built on local presence. His team returned to the office as soon as possible because creativity and culture cannot be built remotely.
Throughout the event, the same idea resurfaced: broadcast succeeds when it’s easy to buy, deeply local, respectful of the audience, and supported by tools that enhance rather than replace what makes the medium unique. The muscle memory is still there; it simply needs rebuilding.
One Clear Takeaway for 2026
To capture the opportunity ahead, broadcasters will need more than optimism. They will need:
- Technology and automation that help teams move faster
- Forecasting, pricing, and inventory tools that provide clarity — not noise — and protect rate integrity
- A single source of truth across markets to support sales process standardization, centralization, and smarter multi-market decision making
This is where modern, AI-driven decision-making really matters. The challenge isn’t a lack of data; it’s cutting through the noise. Broadcasters need pricing and inventory intelligence that helps them make stronger decisions in every demand environment — strengthening rate integrity and preventing the race-to-the-bottom discounting that erodes value. At Revenue Analytics, we’ve invested in AI-powered tools that help media organizations operate with greater clarity and speed. By simplifying data complexity, automating sales pitch tasks, and strengthening the decisions that drive revenue, these solutions help teams unlock more value from every piece of inventory and refocus on what makes media great.
The pony is absolutely there in 2026. With the right strategy, the right teams, and the right technology, the industry is well positioned to find it.
Want to Learn More?
If your team is preparing for 2026 and looking for ways to forecast more accurately, price more confidently, and automate sales processes, we’d love to help.
Explore how Revenue Analytics supports media organizations with smarter pricing, AI-powered guidance, and tools built to scale: https://www.revenueanalytics.com/industries/media/
Last updated on December 9, 2025
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