Is Hollywood Broken? A Savvy Investor’s View of 2026.

The future of Hollywood deal-making is explored with Jeff Sagansky, former top executive at CBS and Sony Pictures. Sagansky anticipates an active year for M&A in media due to cheaper debt and plentiful equity, highlighting potential deals involving Versant, Warner Bros., and Stars. A key point of contention is the consolidation of streaming services into an oligopoly, potentially leading to Justice Department intervention in mergers like Netflix and Warner Bros. Sagansky also addresses the shift towards free services like YouTube and Tubi, driven by consumer dissatisfaction with rising streaming prices and the increasing availability of short-form content. He suggests a possible return to the Fin-Syn rules to restore backend compensation for creative talent, referencing Nixon's actions in 1971 as a precedent.