Lo streaming continues to gain ground, the traditional television retreats and theartificial intelligence is preparing to change the way content is produced and distributed. Meanwhile, the major groups of Media & Entertainment they accelerate on consolidation. It is the photograph of the sector drawn by theMediobanca Studies Area in the new Media & Entertainment Report, which analyzes the main international and Italian operators and also dedicates a focus to European public service.
Media & Entertainment: Streaming, Consolidation, and AI Reshape the Balance
In 2025 the top 25 private international groups reached 362,8 billion of euros of turnover, growing by 2,8% in 2024 and 6,8% in 2022. The US represents 84% of revenues: 11 groups are based in the United States, 10 in Europe and one each in Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Japan and India.
Driving the market is the video on demand, which is worth 22,2% of the turnover and grows by 13,4%, while they decrease dealer (-4,1%), traditional pay TV (-2,5%), and content production and distribution (-2,1%). Streaming users increased by 6,1% as of December 31, 2025: Netflix surpasses 300 million subscribers, with a 27,7% share of the global SVOD market, Amazon Prime Video has 200 million users, and Walt Disney, including Disney+ and Hulu, has 196 million subscribers.
Il consolidation accompanies the rush to streaming: in 2025 Paramount was acquired by skydance, the operation has been concluded Canal+/MultiChoice e Mfe has strengthened its position in ProSiebenSat.1; in 2026 the offers arrived Paramount Skydance for Warner Bros Discovery and Fox for RokuOperations aimed at achieving economies of scale, strengthening streaming and making digital platforms increasingly central to the distribution and monetization of content. Meanwhile, profitability is improving:Ebit margin The average share of the main international operators rises to 14,3%, +0,7 points compared to 2024, with Netflix at 29,5%, Versant at 21,1% and TelevisaUnivision at 21%.
Completing the transformation is thegenerative artificial intelligence, which is becoming a structural component of the audiovisual industry and affects the entire value chain, from pre-production to distribution and monetization. The ability to integrate data, computational power, and AI technologies into business models will be increasingly crucial.
Italy, major operators resist but streaming advances
In the 2024 i revenues The aggregates of the main Italian groups grew by 7,4% compared to 2023 and by 10,7% compared to 2022, driven by Svod (+15,8%), advertising (+9,6%) and traditional pay TV (+5,4%). Rai, Sky e Mediaset concentrate approximately 63% of the turnover, against 68% in 2022, while the online platformsRai remains first with 2,8 billion euros (+4,7%), followed by Sky with 2,3 billion (+8,6%) and Mediaset with 2,1 billion (+6,9%); Netflix, Prime Video, Disney + e Dazn They strengthened their presence in the Italian market. Headcounts at the main operators decreased by 3,8%, to 22.619, while the aggregate EBIT margin returned to positive territory, at 2,5%.
In the 2025 Italian radio and television sector reached 9,6 billion euros, +0,7% over 2024 and almost 10% above 2019. Web subscriptions grew by 10%, reaching 24,9% of revenues; streaming is worth approximately 2,4 billion and 59,4% of pay TV, almost 45 points more than in 2019, while traditional pay TV lost 5,5% of subscriptions. TV advertising fell by 2,6%, radio advertising grew by 2,1%, and digital platforms exceeded 66% of national advertising investments. Theinformation moves online: 55,8% of Italians get their information online, compared to 43,2% on TV, but traditional media maintain higher levels of trust than online sources.
Rai's license fee is among the lowest in Europe.
In the European comparison, the German public broadcasting system remains the largest, with 9,8 billion euros, ahead of the United Kingdom (7,9 billion) and France (4,4 billion). Italy stops at 2,8 billion. In 2024, the Rai Rai recorded revenue growth of 4,7%, the fifth-best result in the European sample, after Spain (+9,8%), France (+8,9%), Great Britain (+8,2%), and Austria (+4,8%). Germany was the only country to report a contraction, at 1,8%. Rai also stands out for its profitability, with an EBIT margin of 3,9% in 2024, albeit down 1,7 percentage points from 2023. Austria (2%) and Switzerland (1,1%) follow, while the other broadcasters in the sample are in negative territory.
As for the canonItaly remains the country with the lowest unit tax among the major European markets: €90 per year, equal to €0,25 per day per subscriber, compared to a European average of €0,34. The comparison is stark with Switzerland (€0,98 per day), Germany (€0,60), the United Kingdom (€0,56), and Austria (€0,55).
The growing multi-platform use and the reduced weight of traditional television thus bring the issue of c back to the centreHow to finance public serviceo. Mixed models or alternative contributions have emerged in several European countries. The challenge, the report emphasizes, is to ensure adequate, stable, and predictable resources to guarantee independent and pluralistic information, culture, social cohesion, and support for the audiovisual and creative industries.
The outlook for 2026
Il trends should continue in 2026. Mediobanca estimates for the main international operators a revenue growth of 5,3%, video on demand still the protagonist (+14,9%). Advertising (+11,6%) and theme parks and merchandising (+8,8%) are also growing, while content production and distribution are expected to increase by 2%. Traditional pay TV is expected to lose 5,7% of subscriptions.
In Italy, growth will be more moderate, between 4% and 5%, also supported by the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, video on demand (Avod) advertising offers, ad-supported plans and Fast Channels, as well as content production and distribution. traditional advertising However, it remains under pressure: in the first half of 2026, the radio and television sector recorded a decline of 2,2%, reaching -5,6% in June alone. Television fell by 2,1% in the half-year and radio by 3,7%, while digital advertising continued to grow, posting a +3,4%.
The challenge, therefore, is no longer simply to gain subscribers. It's above all to monetize audiences through advertising, data, and higher-value services. And in this game, streaming, artificial intelligence, and global consolidation are destined to become increasingly important.
