9 Trends That Will Shape the Media Year 2026
The way we consume media, communicate with each other and store online is undergoing radical change. At the "Media Trends 2026" event, MedienNetzwerk Bayern presented the topics that are particularly moving the industry at the moment - from vertical drama to the return of genuine community experiences:
1. addiction factor in portrait format: new content, new business model
Vertical drama (also known as micro drama) comes from China and is perfectly tailored to smartphone behavior. The episodes are extremely short, rapidly edited and always end with a nasty cliffhanger. The content competes more with “doomscrolling” on TikTok than the classic series marathon. The business model borrows its logic from gaming: the first episodes are free teasers that users encounter on social media. From there, they link to external platforms where individual episodes can be purchased.
2. shopping without clicks: When AI fills the shopping cart
We are moving towards closed commerce. Thanks to AI agents (e.g. in Perplexity), shopping is becoming a “zero click” experience. The assistant takes over the research and the entire purchasing process. The result: brand loyalty counts less than the AI’s recommendation. By 2025, 36% of people worldwide were already using ChatGPT for their purchases.
The trends were researched and presented by Jaqueline Hoffmann from MedienNetzwerk Bayern at the “Media Trends 2026” event. More information on the individual trends can be found on the MedienNetzwerk website.
3. liquid content: the end of the rigid contribution form
The media landscape is moving towards the post-format era. Content must be increasingly fluid (“liquid”) and be able to transform automatically into any format. One pioneer is TIME Magazine, which prepares its content in a modular way so that users can consume it in their preferred format. For editorial teams, this means that the entire technical infrastructure will have to be converted to flexible ecosystems in the future.
4. longing for authenticity: back to real life
Despite digitalization, there is a strong desire for human anchor points. According to the rheingold connectedness study, 77% of Germans want more genuine community experiences. Media brands are responding to this with meeting places and campaigns: Netflix opened its own “experience house” in Philadelphia in the US, and BR brings people together at participatory concerts such as “Bayern singt”. The trend is increasingly moving from the screen to the analog world.
5. representation gap: The search for one’s own point of view
Trust in the media is in crisis: in fact, according to a survey, 62% of Germans no longer feel represented in the traditional media. As the political orientation of journalists often does not reflect the broad spectrum of the population, many users are turning away and looking online for content that more closely reflects their own opinions. In other countries, this is already a breeding ground for new, sometimes highly ideological platforms that tell history and world events from their very own (e.g. right-wing populist) point of view.
6 The power of the voice: Why we trust our ears more than our eyes
In times of deepfakes, the “sound of trust” applies. Our brain decides within just 80 milliseconds whether we trust a voice. We have now learned that images are easy to manipulate – radio in Germany, on the other hand, still enjoys the highest level of credibility. However, there are also AI clones in the audio sector – and they are on the increase. Digital authenticity seals and filter tools are already being used to counteract this.
7. microversus: class instead of mass in the niche
Even if the major social media platforms are still gaining users, studies show that the time we actively spend on them is gradually decreasing. The new trend is therefore proximity instead of mass. Media providers are trying to address users in closed direct chats and small, moderated communities that feel like a safe space. AI helps with the management of groups, but not with the creation of content: this concept only works if the approach is as personal as possible.
8. conversation news: news in dialog
Information procurement is becoming a dialog. Thanks to AI platforms, we are consuming news less and less passively, but increasingly in the form of a natural conversation. It is already assumed that the journalism of the future will have to feel like a chat – a flowing dialog that feels like a natural conversation for the recipient.
9. hyperlocal via Messenger: the neighborhood in a WhatsApp subscription
WhatsApp is the most important app for 84% of young Germans. Automated WhatsApp channels allow local media to reach their target group where they are anyway. These small-scale, hyperlocal communities are extremely successful as they push relevant information directly into people’s private lives. And for local media – which are having to merge or close more and more local editorial offices for economic reasons – they offer an opportunity to reach relevant small target groups.
