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Market strategy briefQ2 2026Next refresh: mid-Nov 2026

Higher Spend Concentration + Slower posture

Media, Entertainment & Education Platforms

Higher Spend Concentration + Slower · $200.2B disclosed spend · led by Geographic Expansion plays · activity cooling across 114 public buyers.

Useful buyers show repeatable acquisition logic around audience density, content ownership, enrollment bases, venue footprints, or professional training capacity.

Geographic Expansion dominantSpend HHI 1,181Cooling -41

Disclosed acquisition spend is above the atlas median HHI (576), while recent activity is flat or cooling.

Public buyers

114

57 core (10+)

Recorded buys

1,252

159 last 3 yrs

Disclosed spend

$200.2B

$31.8B recent

Matched issuers

174

4 segments

Strategy fingerprint

How this market gets bought

Spend-weighted strategy mix from public buyers' 10-K language. Each archetype shows the buyers who lead it.

Geo 24%
Platform 23%
Bolt 22%
Horiz 19%
Tuck InBolt OnPlatformGeographic ExpansionHorizontal ConsolidationTechnology AcquisitionTalent Acquisition

Tuck In

9% mix

Small additive deals folded directly into the existing business.

Bolt On

22% mix

Mid-sized acquisitions extending the existing product or service core.

“As part of our business strategy, we may seek to broaden our service offerings, obtain additional clients and strengthen our service quality by acquiring other companies or businesses or making strategic investments.”

ATA Creativity Global (AACG) · FY2017

Platform

23% mix

Foundational deals establishing a new platform or business line.

“ANZ provides an attractive platform for future growth, driven by Australia’s status as an attractive destination for international students”

Strategic Education, Inc. (STRA) · FY2020

Geographic Expansion

24% mix

Buying density or new geographies to extend the footprint.

“continued consolidation of distribution customers and production studios”

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) · FY2025

Horizontal Consolidation

19% mix

Acquiring direct competitors to consolidate the market.

“Access has consistently backed the Company’s bold expansion strategies through organic A&R as well as acquisitions.”

Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) · FY2024

Technology Acquisition

4% mix

Buying products, IP, or engineering depth for capability gain.

“The acquisition of dataxu’s platform complements the Company’s OTT advertising platform and enables marketers to access a single, data-driven software solution to plan, buy, and optimize their ad spend across TV and OTT providers.”

Roku, Inc. (ROKU) · FY2019

Talent Acquisition

0% mix

Acquisitions led by team or human-capital rationale.

Buyer landscape

Disclosed buyer scale by annual spend

Each bubble is a top public buyer with disclosed acquisition spend. X = average disclosed spend per active year. Y = total disclosed spend. Midlines are buyer medians. Color = dominant strategy archetype.

Below-median disclosed spend per active year, above-median total disclosed spend.Lower Annual Spend / Higher Total SpendAbove-median disclosed spend per active year, above-median total disclosed spend.Higher Annual Spend / Higher Total SpendBelow-median disclosed spend per active year, below-median total disclosed spend.Lower Annual Spend / Lower Total SpendAbove-median disclosed spend per active year, below-median total disclosed spend.Higher Annual Spend / Lower Total Spend$100M$1B$10B$1B$10Bmedian annual $201Mmedian total $1.8BAvg disclosed acquisition spend per active year (log) →Total disclosed spend (log)WBDWarner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) Geographic Expansion $53.9B total · $3.6B / active year 15 active years · 23 buys reportedDISWalt Disney Co/ (DIS) Geographic Expansion $37B total · $18.5B / active year 2 active years · 2 buys reportedAACGATA Creativity Global (AACG) Bolt On $8.8B total · $1.3B / active year 7 active years · 2 buys reportedTKOTKO Group Holdings, Inc. (TKO) Platform $8.4B total · $4.2B / active year 2 active years · 4 buys reportedGTNGray Media, Inc. (GTN) Geographic Expansion $8.3B total · $596M / active year 14 active years · 32 buys reportedUPXIUpexi, Inc. (UPXI) Bolt On $7.1B total · $1.8B / active year 4 active years · 6 buys reportedNWSNews Corporation (NWS) Geographic Expansion $6.9B total · $577M / active year 12 active years · 5 buys reportedSSPTHE E.w. Scripps Company (SSP) Geographic Expansion $5.2B total · $372M / active year 14 active years · 50 buys reportedNXSTNexstar Media Group, Inc. (NXST) Geographic Expansion $3.4B total · $282M / active year 12 active years · 43 buys reportedLYVLive Nation Entertainment, Inc. (LYV) Geographic Expansion $3B total · $151M / active year 20 active years · 45 buys reportedWLYJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) Bolt On $2.5B total · $168M / active year 15 active years · 19 buys reportedBBGIBeasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (BBGI) Mixed strategy $2.4B total · $202M / active year 12 active years · 10 buys reportedSTRZStarz Entertainment Corp. (STRZ) Bolt On $2.4B total · $302M / active year 8 active years · 8 buys reportedGHCGraham Holdings Co. (GHC) Geographic Expansion $2.3B total · $163M / active year 14 active years · 82 buys reportedCNKCinemark Holdings, Inc. (CNK) Geographic Expansion $2.1B total · $152M / active year 14 active years · 57 buys reportedSTRAStrategic Education, Inc. (STRA) Platform $2B total · $219M / active year 9 active years · 7 buys reportedTDAYUSA Today Co., Inc. (TDAY) Bolt On $1.8B total · $205M / active year 9 active years · 201 buys reportedEDUNEW Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) Geographic Expansion $1.8B total · $226M / active year 8 active yearsAMCXAMC Global Media Inc. (AMCX) Platform $1.8B total · $199M / active year 9 active years · 4 buys reportedNFLXNetflix, Inc. (NFLX) Platform $1.6B total · $392M / active year 4 active years · 1 buys reportedWMGWarner Music Group Corp. (WMG) Horizontal Consolidation $1.5B total · $99M / active year 15 active years · 10 buys reportedFWONALiberty Media Corporation (FWONA) Platform $1.4B total · $142M / active year 10 active years · 5 buys reportedSIRISirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) Geographic Expansion $1.4B total · $175M / active year 8 active years · 6 buys reportedCCZComcast Corporation (CCZ) Bolt On $1.4B total · $465M / active year 3 active years · 5 buys reportedFOXFOX Corporation (FOX) Bolt On $1.4B total · $347M / active year 4 active years · 10 buys reportedSALMSalem Media Group, Inc. (SALM) Geographic Expansion $1.4B total · $91M / active year 15 active years · 124 buys reportedSPOTSpotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) Bolt On $1.3B total · $210M / active year 6 active years · 8 buys reportedAPEIAmerican Public Education, Inc. (APEI) Bolt On $1.1B total · $159M / active year 7 active years · 7 buys reportedCHGGChegg, Inc. (CHGG) Bolt On $734M total · $92M / active year 8 active years · 13 buys reportedNYTTHE NEW York Times Company (NYT) Platform $665M total · $111M / active year 6 active years · 9 buys reportedIHRTIheartmedia, Inc. (IHRT) Platform $655M total · $94M / active year 7 active years · 3 buys reportedTCMEFTencent Music Entertainment Group (TCMEF) Mixed strategy $498M total · $100M / active year 5 active yearsSEGGSports Entertainment Gaming Global Corporation (SEGG) Platform $476M total · $95M / active year 5 active years · 4 buys reportedROKURoku, Inc. (ROKU) Technology Acquisition $451M total · $75M / active year 6 active years · 5 buys reportedPRDOPerdoceo Education Corp. (PRDO) Geographic Expansion $396M total · $40M / active year 10 active years · 13 buys reportedAFYAAfya Limited (AFYA) Mixed strategy $275M total · $46M / active year 6 active years · 1 buys reported
BuyerDominant playDisclosed spendSpend / yrBuys3-yr spend trend
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.WBDGeographic Expansion
$53.9B
$3.6B23

Winding down

$42.4B → $100M

Walt Disney Co/DISGeographic Expansion
$37B
$18.5B2

New cycle

$1.3B recent

ATA Creativity GlobalAACGBolt On
$8.8B
$1.3B2

Cooling

-59%

TKO Group Holdings, Inc.TKOPlatform
$8.4B
$4.2B4

New cycle

$8.4B recent

Gray Media, Inc.GTNGeographic Expansion
$8.3B
$596M32

Winding down

$3.9B → $6M

Upexi, Inc.UPXIBolt On
$7.1B
$1.8B6

New cycle

$7.1B recent

News CorporationNWSGeographic Expansion
$6.9B
$577M5

Winding down

$2.4B → $55M

THE E.w. Scripps CompanySSPGeographic Expansion
$5.2B
$372M50

Winding down

$2.7B → $14M

Nexstar Media Group, Inc.NXSTGeographic Expansion
$3.4B
$282M43

Cooling

-57%

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.LYVGeographic Expansion
$3B
$151M45

Cooling

-71%

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.WLYBolt On
$2.5B
$168M19

Winding down

$605M → $14M

Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc.BBGIN/A
$2.4B
$202M10

New cycle

$2B recent

Playbook theatre

The language of consolidation, by archetype

Direct sentences from public buyers' 10-K filings, grouped by the strategy they describe.

“continued consolidation of distribution customers and production studios”

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.WBDFY2025

“Hometrack Australia is a provider of property data services to the financial sector and allows REA Group to deliver more property data and insights to its customers.”

News CorporationNWSFY2018

“On November 20, 2020, we acquired the television station KCDO in the Denver, Colorado market.”

THE E.w. Scripps CompanySSPFY2020

“We will continue to enhance our application programming interface features to reach a broader audience and expand our digital ticketing rollout”

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.LYVFY2023

“we have pursued and intend to continue to pursue selective strategic acquisitions of businesses that complement our existing businesses”

NEW Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.EDUFY2011

“Our growth may be limited if we are unable to implement an acquisition strategy and our operating results may be adversely affected if we are unable to successfully integrate any future acquisition;”

Nexstar Media Group, Inc.NXSTFY2024

Submarkets

Where the cadence lives

Activity intensity, lead buyers, and footprint per segment within this market.

Entertainment, Venues & Content

453

Theaters, live entertainment, filmed content, music, venues, games, and audience platforms.

Buyers

58

Core

30

Spend

$146.3B

2006–2025 · last year 36

Broadcast & Local Media

298

Television, radio, station groups, local media footprints, and audience reach.

Buyers

15

Core

9

Spend

$23.8B

2006–2025 · last year 2

Education & Training Services

243

Higher education, online learning, workforce training, assessment, tutoring, and credentialing platforms.

Buyers

34

Core

14

Spend

$23.3B

2006–2025 · last year 34

Publishing & Information Content

274

Newspapers, books, journals, education content, professional publishing, and subscription content.

Buyers

7

Core

4

Spend

$6.9B

2006–2025 · last year 2

Accelerators

Recent 3-yr cadence above prior

8

Coolers

Recent 3-yr cadence below prior

8

Trajectory

20 years of cadence and spend

Annual recorded buys and disclosed spend across the matched buyer set.

0811622006: 51 buys · $1.4B spend · 15 buyers2007: 47 buys · $2.3B spend · 14 buyers2008: 46 buys · $887M spend · 14 buyers2009: 12 buys · $699M spend · 7 buyers2010: 23 buys · $1.6B spend · 6 buyers2011: 52 buys · $3.2B spend · 19 buyers2012: 29 buys · $1.4B spend · 16 buyers2013: 83 buys · $6.7B spend · 15 buyers2014: 51 buys · $3.4B spend · 18 buyers2015: 70 buys · $4.8B spend · 18 buyers2016: 162 buys · $5.2B spend · 24 buyers2017: 119 buys · $8B spend · 22 buyers2018: 77 buys · $10.1B spend · 21 buyers2019: 85 buys · $44B spend · 31 buyers2020: 52 buys · $6.2B spend · 28 buyers2021: 67 buys · $13.7B spend · 33 buyers2022: 67 buys · $54.9B spend · 33 buyers2023: 33 buys · $14.4B spend · 24 buyers2024: 56 buys · $12.6B spend · 24 buyers2025: 70 buys · $4.8B spend · 22 buyers2006: 51 buys · $1.4B spend · 15 buyers2007: 47 buys · $2.3B spend · 14 buyers2008: 46 buys · $887M spend · 14 buyers2009: 12 buys · $699M spend · 7 buyers2010: 23 buys · $1.6B spend · 6 buyers2011: 52 buys · $3.2B spend · 19 buyers2012: 29 buys · $1.4B spend · 16 buyers2013: 83 buys · $6.7B spend · 15 buyers2014: 51 buys · $3.4B spend · 18 buyers2015: 70 buys · $4.8B spend · 18 buyers2016: 162 buys · $5.2B spend · 24 buyers2017: 119 buys · $8B spend · 22 buyers2018: 77 buys · $10.1B spend · 21 buyers2019: 85 buys · $44B spend · 31 buyers2020: 52 buys · $6.2B spend · 28 buyers2021: 67 buys · $13.7B spend · 33 buyers2022: 67 buys · $54.9B spend · 33 buyers2023: 33 buys · $14.4B spend · 24 buyers2024: 56 buys · $12.6B spend · 24 buyers2025: 70 buys · $4.8B spend · 22 buyers20062011201620212025
Recorded buysDisclosed spend (rescaled)