Technology strategy at European media organisations is re-shaping around AI and data sovereignty. And this transformation is happening as global streamers and US-owned social video platforms erode audience share of national broadcasters and local services.

Those are some of the key findings from the new DPP European Media Trends 2026 report, which reveals a media ecosystem undergoing a rapid, technology-driven transformation, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerging as the dominant force driving strategic change.

The DPP European Media Trends 2026 report is based on two unique pieces of research. First, the DPP and Mediavision European TV & Streaming Outlook which investigates how audiences from 11 European markets are consuming streaming services, online and social video, and linear TV.

The second source is the live surveys conducted at the DPP European Broadcaster Summit 2026 in Paris, the fifth edition of the DPP's gathering of technology and business leaders from major European media companies, along with their partners and members of the supplier community.

The 28 participating media organisations at the DPP European Broadcaster Summit 2026 in Paris were:

AFP, BBC, BBC Studios, CME, Pro TV, RTL Croatia, DPG Media, Deutsche Welle, Euronews, France Télévisions, Groupe M6, ITV, Kronehit, Mediaset, MTV Oy, NRK, PA Media Group, Proximus Media House, RTÉ, SVT, SWR, TF1, TV 2 Denmark, TV 2 Norway, UKTV, Yle and ZDF.

The report confirms that AI has become the unequivocally dominant driver of technological change in the past year, prompting the majority of European broadcasters and their suppliers to rethink their core technology strategies.

Furthermore, these developments in AI capabilities are also fundamentally re-shaping the traditional 'Buy vs Build' debate. The DPP European Media Trends 2026 research found that a quarter of European media companies have changed their strategy to develop more in-house or take on greater integration responsibilities, a shift enabled by AI-assisted coding tools.

Orbiting these technology shifts is a growing appetite for digital sovereignty as part of business resilience plans. Data sovereignty remains a key concern for European media companies, actively impacting cloud strategies. As a result, many are exploring approaches such as adopting specialised 'Sovereign Cloud' solutions, implementing multi-cloud strategies to avoid single-vendor lock-in, and even repatriating certain critical workloads.

"AI is not just a new tool; it has emerged as the unequivocally dominant driver of technological change, prompting a rethink of technology strategies across the European media ecosystem.

"This transformation, combined with growing data sovereignty concerns, means European media companies are actively exploring the extent to which they are able to reduce their reliance on US-based hyperscalers to ensure business resilience and digital sovereignty," says DPP Editorial Director Edward Qualtrough.

The strategic overhauls being undertaken are framed by intense market pressure. Indeed, the European TV & Streaming Outlook data highlights that US-based media and technology companies — in particular global streamers like Netflix and the dominant social networks and video platforms including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook — are capturing a vast share of European attention. This dominance reinforces the challenge local European media organisations face in retaining relevance and market share in their home markets.

"This is a story not about what content people in Europe are watching, but how and where they are consuming. Global streaming platforms provide the preferred viewing experience, and this has huge implications for the future of content distribution in Europe," adds Mark Harrison, Founder and Chief Content Officer at the DPP.

The DPP European Media Trends 2026 report was enabled by sponsors Backscreen and Software Mind. The headline sponsor of the DPP European Broadcaster Summit 2026 was Red Bee Media.