Europe’s Media Giants Face Double Threat From AI, Low Ad Demand

Europe’s biggest publishers and broadcasters face a tough 2026, with artificial intelligence threatening to disrupt business models and global uncertainty crimping advertising budgets.

The media and entertainment subindex of the Stoxx Europe 600 is set to post earnings growth of 6.9% in 2026, trailing the 10% pace expected for the broader index, Bloomberg Intelligence data shows.

“The ad market and AI uncertainties weighing on Europe’s publishers and broadcasters are likely to persist through 2026,” and this could continue to hurt share prices in the sector after “significant underperformance” in 2025, BI analyst Tom Ward said.