Curt’s Top 10 Predictions for 2026
Freepik: Curt Doty
2025 shaped up to be a year of seismic change, promising innovation, disruption, and new opportunities in equal measure. Many of my predictions were realized, mainly around the Rise of GEO, AI Mergers Boomed (Manus, for example), YouTube’s viewing dominance and end of the streaming wars. AGI did NOT happen, so this year, mine is not completely about AI, but mixed into everything media, technology and politics.
1. Netflix Wins Bid for Warner Bros
In a plot twist worthy of HBO's golden age, Netflix lands the rights to Warner Bros. Not just a power move—this is a cultural rebrand. The famous brand of “WB” will live on. Netflix, long the disruptor, finally becomes the establishment. Warner's iconic IP (DC, Looney Tunes, Casablanca) gets reborn with Netflix’s algorithmic juju. It’s a win for streaming, storytelling, and, surprisingly, freedom of speech—because Netflix isn't kowtowing to the politics of conservative oligarchs. Meanwhile, traditional broadcasters are left holding the remote… to nothing.
2. AI Power Moves to the Edge
AI’s not just in the cloud anymore—it’s on your wrist, in your car, and embedded in your bathroom mirror. The intelligence goes local, which means lower latency, greater privacy, and fewer Black Mirror vibes. Because he who controls the endpoint, controls the user.
3. Data Centers Face Backlash
The energy bill has arrived. The same people who built AI on the promise of efficiency are now being grilled for boiling the planet. Public scrutiny turns to data centers like it did to oil rigs, fracking, and crypto mines. California regulates. Texas exploits. But while the U.S. bickers, China goes green. Clean energy, smart grids, vertical cooling towers—Xi plays the long game, and wins.
4. Authenticity Is the New Black
2025 was the peak of AI slop—content without context, visuals without vision. Now? We're craving messiness. Flaws. Humanity. Authentic writing and unfiltered creativity come roaring back, because audiences are tuning out the slop of convenience and efficiency. Real is the new viral. Substack booms. Indie creators get HBO deals. Everyone wants a human at the helm again.
5. Universities Drop the Ball on AI
Academia’s still clinging to dusty degrees while AI bootcamps, TikTok tutorials, and free LLM-powered tutors are teaching the next-gen coders, designers, and marketers. The train has left the Ivory Tower. By the time the tenured figure it out, students are credentialing themselves with GitHub repos, not diplomas. Higher Ed becomes Lower Relevance.
6. "One Battle After Another" Wins Best Picture
A film that reminds us what cinema can be: visceral, human, and painfully real. No deepfakes, no algorithmic story arcs—just a well-crafted, auteur-driven gut punch. It silences the "AI will replace directors" crowd, at least until the next CGI-laden monstrosity drops. This win is about the craft—and the industry remembers why it fell in love with movies in the first place.
7. No AI Feature Films Hit Theaters
Sure, AI tools are everywhere in film—from dubbing to de-aging—but the promise of fully AI-made blockbusters fizzles. Turns out, you can't fake soul. Sorry Tilly! Or narrative tension. Or vibe. AI streamlines pipelines but can't deliver the next Scorsese. Studios quietly pivot from "AI-generated" to "AI-assisted." Meanwhile, advertisers don’t care—they’re still pumping out millions of cheap, uncanny campaigns.
8. Gavin Newsom Wins Troll of the Year
No one throws shade quite like Newsom. With the White House in his sights, 2026 becomes his meme-fueled warm-up tour. California leads on climate, tech, and digital rights, while Gavin weaponizes TikTok to dunk on the current administration with his own style of presidential flair. He’s equal parts policy wonk and performance artist—and nobody claps back harder.
9. Event Television Moves to YouTube
Broadcast is dead. Netflix owns Warner. And the Oscars? They're live-streaming on YouTube in 2029. More reach, better UX, real-time chat. Appointment viewing hasn’t vanished—it’s just migrated. YouTube’s premium tab is now the network. Hollywood resists, then caves. Next up: Emmys on Twitch?
10. Democrats Take Back the House and Senate
Yep. Believe it. Vote.
About the Author
Curt Doty is a former studio executive and award-winning creative director with deep leadership experience across the entertainment and branding industries. Ten years in Television. Ten Years in Movies.
As the founder of CurtDoty.co, a creative consultancy, Curt has led integrated marketing, multi-channel storytelling, branding, identity, and user experience initiatives for a diverse roster of clients.
Over the past 15 years, Curt has leaned into innovation—leading R&D projects at Apple, Toshiba, and Microsoft, and pioneering interactive content.
Today, Curt’s work also explores the intersection of AI and entertainment. A sought-after fractional leader (CCO, CMO), speaker, and AI educator, he focuses on demystifying AI for creatives and executives alike.
Curt is a sought after public speaker having been featured at Mobile Growth Association, Mobile World Congress, App Growth Summit, Promax, CES, CTIA, NAB, NATPE, MMA Global, New Mexico Angels, PRSA, EntrepeneursRx, Digital Hollywood, SHRM, Streaming Media NYC, and Davos Worldwide. Download his speaker presskit here.
He also hosts RealmIQ: Sessions, a podcast spotlighting thought leaders in tech, content, and design—continuing his role as a visionary voice in the future of creativity.
