What Will Drive Media Stocks in 2026?
That’s a question MoffettNathanson Senior Analyst Robert Fishman answers in a fresh investor note. He focuses on five themes his team expects to drive 2026. But, where are the broadcast media companies?
Yet, barely any publicly traded broadcast media companies are within the scope of Fishman’s dissertation, as MoffettNathanson reiterated “Buy” ratings on Cinemark (CNK, $30 PT), Live Nation (LYV, $180 PT), Netflix (NFLX, $115 PT), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD, $31 PT, +$5 higher), and ABC parent The Walt Disney Company (DIS, $140 PT).
MoffettNathanson also reiterated its “Neutral” rating on Fox Corporation (FOXA, $63 PT, +$4 higher), CBS parent Paramount Skydance (PSKY, $14 PT, -$2 lower), and Roku (ROKU, $90 PT); as MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett holds a “Buy” rating on NBC and Telemundo parent Comcast (CMCSA, $53 PT).
There is no Nexstar Media Group or iHeartMedia … or any other TV or radio broadcasting company that isn’t tied to a network.
With that backdrop, Fishman paints a portrait of a humdrum media landscape that until 2024 was “congested” with growth in the sector grinding to a halt. “Accelerating cord-cutting and linear advertising dollars shifting to digital were too much of a secular overhang,” he adds.
Then came the “rising value of sports and live experiences” — the very touchpoints that broadcast TV companies have been touting in their quarterly earnings call. Yet, it appears the MoffettNathanson team hasn’t been swayed enough to include broadcast media in its analysis.
Ahead of Q4 2025 earnings, MoffettNathanson believes the following themes will drive the year ahead:
1. M&A: What About the Others?
2. DTC Endgame
3. Sports Rights: Who’s Next and How Much?
4. Live Experiences: Human Experiences in a Digital World
5. Sustainable 2026 Ad Momentum; What About Cord-Cutting?
Oddly, the M&A conversation doesn’t even mention Nexstar’s bid to acquire TEGNA, or Sinclair’s unwanted advances toward The E.W. Scripps Co. With “modernization” of local media rules a hot-button topic in Washington and rumors of a February 10 Senate Commerce Committee hearing focused on a potential Congressional repeal of the 39% national ownership reach cap, Fishman instead believes Disney “stands out as the biggest beneficiary of this M&A cycle” and focuses on WBD’s future, which appears to be within Netflix.
On the topic of sports rights, there is no discussion of Scripps Sports or any other broadcast TV initiatives that have taken shape in recent years as regional sports networks face dire life-threatening situations.
“Opportunities emerging from M&A, rising value of sports and live experiences, the growth of digital ad dollars, and a potential rebound in the box office have once again made the road ahead for media look wide open,” Fishman says. “It’s time for media investors to buckle up again for another year of excitement.”
Broadcast TV and radio have a similar story to tell. They just won’t be able to count on MoffettNathanson as a cheerleader.
