Global Scans · Media & Entertainment · Weekly Summary

• [New] The convergence of generative AI, virtual production, and synthetic media is creating an entirely new category of creative infrastructure that will define entertainment production for the next decade. BUSINESS 2.0 NEWS
• [New] Ad spending on social media is expected to grow by 10.9% each year from 2026 to 2030. Sprout Social
• [New] Total spend on social media advertising is projected to reach $317.33 billion in 2026. Sprout Social
• [New] META 2026 will gather the global community of scientists and engineers at the forefront of nanophotonics, metamaterials, and advanced electromagnetic media. META Conference Series
• [New] For media companies in the year ahead, a focus on deepening audience relationships, diversifying revenues, demonstrating value and deploying AI strategically and realistically, will be the key to success. Digital Content Next
• [New] Meta's experiments with paid subscriptions could signal a shift in social media, while a significant court case examines the implications of addictive design in social media applications, possibly paving the way for a global redesign. Top Tech Tidbits
• [New] Influencer marketing is continuing to grow in popularity as marketers invest more in user-generated content (UGC), with social media creator revenue expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2028. Virid.com
• [New] Disguise, a global leader in media server technology and extended reality (XR) solutions, will showcase innovations with an immersive tunnel activation. blooloop
• [New] Collectibles, kidults and KPop are the key trends that will shape play in 2026; with social media-driven trends, TV and Movie characters and adults' desire for escapism and psychological wellness all driving demand. Toys n Playthings
• [New] 19% of survey respondents each said traffic changes due to social media and AI and AI-driven traffic decreases will be the biggest challenges for the publishing industry in 2026 - marking the largest groups of respondents in Digiday's survey. Digiday
• [New] American customers expect seamless movement between channels such as SMS, voice, chat, and social media. ProTelesis Corporation
• [New] A government campaign promoting childhood vaccination is expected to be launched next week with adverts on social media, YouTube and radio to counter vaccine scepticism. The Guardian
• [New] More ad buyers expect to strengthen focus on using generative AI in media campaigns in 2026 (78% vs 62% in 2025) - representing the top-cited area. StreamTV Insider
• [New] Social media creator revenue will increase 16.2% in 2026 to $20.6 billion. eMarketer
• [New] If 2025 was the year AI-generated content flooded social media platforms, 2026 will be the year both brands and creators truly reckon with it. Digiday
• [New] Forrester expects retail media spending in Europe to more than double, reaching $43 billion by 2030. Forrester
• [New] US retail media spend will hit $69.33 B in 2026; Amazon and Walmart capture ~89% of incremental dollars Insider Intelligence/eMarketer. MixBright
• [New] In 2026, media companies will invest in data warehousing solutions that securely and intelligently provide data access to power analytics, integrations, and AI. WideOrbit
• [New] In 2026, sales teams will rely more on AI tools that use predictive modeling to build media plans that accurately forecast audience reach across platforms, identify optimal flighting patterns, and enable fluid budget allocation and optimization. WideOrbit
• [New] TikTok will become more similar to American-owned social media applications when it comes to access to data and how it's monetized. Los Angeles Times
• [New] SpaceX, one of the world's most valuable private companies, will gain xAI properties such as its Grok chatbot and the social media platform X. The Guardian

Last updated: 16 February 2026