2026 is set to become a landmark year for the Entertainment space, with the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup on the horizon, the expected launch of the most anticipated video game of the decade, GTA VI, and genres like anime reaching new mainstream heights. It is not surprising that advertising spend in the Media & Entertainment industry is expected to grow by 6.7% in 2026.
Raphael Cunha is Media Director at dentsu in Brazil, a market known for its leadership in the entertainment space. In this article, he shares his views about some of the key trends in Brazil that can inspire the rest of us.
FIFA World Cup boost ad investment
It should go without saying that the FIFA World Cup is a huge event in Brazil. Brazil is the only national team to have won the tournament five times, and expectations are high for the team in 2026. With this attention comes advertising. The tournament unites families and is expected to bring the biggest TV ratings in 2026, just as the FIFA Club World Cup brought the highest ratings in 2025.
The ratings boost mainly comes for linear TV, but the games and associated content will also be shown on some ad-supported streaming channels including Disney, Prime Video, and the local channel Cazé TV, which broadcasts the games on YouTube, and they will also stand to gain from the interest.
While football attracts big, broad audiences, the advertising around it still largely targets men, with verticals like automotive, beverages, finance, telecoms and retailers all expected to spend big to get into the most popular moments.
Although football mainly benefits TV platforms, advertisers will also look for placement around related content in social media like Instagram and TikTok, where people go to see the latest news and updates, and in news brands both in printed newspapers and digital versions.
Advertisers have enthusiastically supported other related content as well, by taking advantage of the new interest in sports docuseries that show behind-the-scenes footage and looking at the personalities involved. For example, Amstel recently supported supported the production of De Virada — Bastidores e Desafios do Futebol Feminino no Brasil (Turning Point — Behind the Scenes and Challenges of Women's Football in Brazil) a documentary in partnership with HBO Max that looked at the topic of women in leadership positions within football.
New, fast-growing spaces bring new opportunities to connect with consumers
For advertisers, entertainment is not exclusive to sports. Advertisers are also keen to reach audiences around other sorts of entertainment across different screens. TV viewing across all platforms is still high, yet many subscribers opt for the ad tiers to keep costs down. That means the numbers of ad impressions on platforms like Netflix are going up, and the ad tier streamers are making up large, mainstream audiences.
Already huge in Asia, micro dramas, dramas with short episodes watched on vertical series, are starting to take off in Brazil and many brands are keen to get involved both in advertising and product placement. Globo, the Brazilian media conglomerate, will launch its own show Tudo Por uma Segunda Chance (Everything for a Second Chance), as an offshoot of its existing TV soap Dona de Mim (Owner of Myself), and will consist of 50 two to three minute episodes that people can watch on social networks.
Across the world, 86% of marketers plan to maintain or increase their investment in organising or sponsoring live events (e.g., concerts) in 2026. Brazil will offer great opportunities to do so in September with Rock in Rio, the world’s largest music and entertainment festival, which happens every two years in two locations: Lisbon, Portugal, in June, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Headliners will include Elton John, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Linkin Park and Cypress Hill, and the shows will be extensively televised.
From Brazil to the rest of the world, 2026 is set to be a growth year for advertising in and around entertainment. To find out more about ad spend trends across industries and markets, download the dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecasts report today.
