In Los Angeles, the entertainment industry is evolving with a noticeable shift toward media and entertainment M&A activity. Over the past couple of years, significant transactions have transformed media companies into even larger conglomerates within the industry. The trend promises to continue.
In this article, Paren Knadjian, Partner-in-Charge of EisnerAmper’s Los Angeles office and member of the Transaction Advisory Services practice, will examine the emerging trends, common challenges, and strategies to stay ahead of trend and to move forward with clear M&A strategy.
Key Takeaways
• Media and entertainment M&A activity in Los Angeles is accelerating, driven by consolidation across streaming, sports, gaming, and AI-enabled technology.
• Organizations preparing for transactions should conduct a rigorous self-assessment, invest in financial and compliance infrastructure, and develop a clear AI strategy before going to market.
• EisnerAmper’s Transaction Advisory Services practice supports media and entertainment entities through all phases of the M&A process.
Six Emerging M&A Trends in Media & Entertainment
There are several emerging trends that will shape M&A activity in 2026 and beyond. These trends carry significant implications, so all parties should be in the know.
1. The “3 C’s” Framework: Competition, Consolidation, & Cooperation.
Streamers and broadcasters are crossing traditional competitive lines, increasingly merging and forming partnerships to compete for audience attention. Because of this, new industry dynamics emerge as competitors begin working together to bundle content, share distribution infrastructure, and develop technology. This creates both M&A opportunities and strategic complexity for advisors.
Consider The ESPN and FOX One bundle as an example. This direct-to-consumer streaming deal launched in October 2025, provides access to the full suite of live sports and news from both major networks at a fixed cost.
2. AI Capability Acquisitions
Acquiring AI capabilities through M&A has become a strategic imperative. Media companies that lack the internal knowledge and experience to develop AI tools for personalization, production efficiency, and content discovery are looking to buy them.
This drives a wave of complementary, smaller, technology-centric transactions, while creating valuation complexity as buyers and sellers negotiate the worth of AI-enabled IP.
3. Sports IP as a Core Media Asset
Live sports rights have become one of the most defensible and monetizable content categories in a fragmented media market. Expect streaming platforms, tech companies, and private capital to continue aggressively pursuing sports assets — with LA’s deep bench of sports franchises and venues placing the city at the center of these transactions.
4. Gaming Consolidation
The $273 billion global video gaming industry is poised for significant M&A as companies race to build, scale, and manage AI. The $55 billion take-private of Electronic Arts signals that even the largest independent gaming companies are not immune to consolidation pressure. Smaller studios with valuable IP, yet limited AI capabilities, are prime acquisition targets.
5. Platform Convergence
YouTube and Netflix are increasingly borrowing from each other’s playbooks. YouTube moves toward long-form premium content, and Netflix expands into short-form and advertising. This convergence will drive partnership agreements, distribution deals, and potentially direct M&A as the line between tech platforms and entertainment companies continues to blur.
6. International Capital
Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, are increasingly active participants in Hollywood transactions, injecting patient capital and global distribution ambitions into the deal ecosystem. Expect this trend to accelerate in 2026 as LA entertainment assets attract global strategic interest.
What Are the Biggest Challenges in Entertainment Industry M&A?
Despite the favorable environment, significant challenges remain:
• Regulatory uncertainty is persistent and headline-grabbing deals that raise consumer harm arguments or labor concerns can stall in review or attract legislative attention that creates execution risk.
• Integration complexity is another significant hurdle. The history of Hollywood M&A is littered with deals that destroyed value through failed integrations, cultural mismatches, and overestimated synergies.
• AI-related legal risk represents a newer challenge that’s continuously evolving. As studios acquire AI capabilities and integrate them into content production, they face unresolved questions around IP ownership, residuals, training data rights, and creative attribution. These issues are being simultaneously litigated in courts, negotiated in union agreements, and debated in legislatures. Buyers and sellers will increasingly price AI-related legal exposure into deal valuations.
• Content pipeline recovery continues to be uneven. U.S. production remains well below peak levels, constraining the near-term revenue potential of acquired content assets and complicating integration timelines.
• Although improving, access to capital is still constrained for smaller companies relative to the largest strategic and financial buyers, creating a bifurcated M&A market in which well-capitalized players have significant advantages.
Strategies to Prepare for Entertainment M&A
As a business owner or executive, it’s important to remain strategic, competitive, and proactive. Entertainment and media companies should take several deliberate steps if they are preparing or evaluating upcoming deals, including:
1. Conduct a rigorous self-assessment to understand your company’s competitive position, IP value, and if the path forward is most credible as an acquirer, target, or strategic advisor.
2. Invest in financial and compliance infrastructure from the beginning. Buyers conducting due diligence will scrutinize financial controls, revenue recognition, tax positions, and labor compliance with increasing sophistication.
3. Develop a clear AI strategy that addresses opportunities and risks. Companies that can articulate a credible plan for integrating AI into content creation, distribution, and audience engagement, without compromising responsible governance, tend to have stronger valuations.
4. Engage advisors early and build the deal team before a transaction is imminent. In an active deal environment, preparation time is compressed, and execution quality can be decisive.
How EisnerAmper Supports Entertainment M&A Transactions
For entertainment and media companies operating in this environment, clarity and preparation are the most powerful competitive advantages. The consolidation wave is not a temporary disruption; it represents a structural realignment that will define the industry for years to come.
Companies that approach this moment with strategic intentionality, financial discipline, and professional advisory support will be best positioned to create value, whether as acquirers, sellers, or strategic partners.
At EisnerAmper, our team supports entities through all phases of the M&A processes, offering strategic guidance, global resources, and actionable insight to help companies position themselves for continued success.
