Generative video moves from background tool to a core production engine, enabling cheaper, faster content while sparking questions about jobs, creativity, intellectual property, and authorship.

Mobile-first storytelling dominates, with vertical, snackable content and micro-dramas fueling pacing and delivery, as platforms like Netflix shape shorter, sharper narratives.

Immersive sports broadcasting emerges with VR and spatial computing offering interactive, first-person, multi-angle viewing and new monetization avenues for broadcasters.

An introductory overview argues entertainment serves as a preview of tech-driven change, outlining seven major trends expected to redefine media and entertainment through 2026 and beyond.

Rich, immersive virtual worlds become possible as world models let users generate expansive environments and lifelike NPCs using AI and tools such as Avatar Cloud Engine.

By 2026, AI and tech could redefine creativity and production, intensifying the ongoing debate over human versus machine roles in storytelling.

Ownership and licensing for AI-created works drive the development of IPTech—watermarking, provenance, and blockchain-based verification—being pursued by groups like C2PA, Fox, and Numbers Protocol.

Content editing adapts to the attention economy with dynamic episode lengths, intelligent recaps, and modular storytelling to better capture and retain audience engagement.

Synthetic celebrities—AI-infused virtual actors and influencers—multiply, giving studios affordable talent but raising labor and authenticity concerns.