With 2025 seeing the mega-merger between Omnicom and IPG now complete, WPP consolidating its media agencies under WPP Media, and more consolidations in the pipeline, for our year-ender series, we asked experts to share 'the one consolidation they see happening in 2026'.

Here's what Laxmi Shetty, head – advertisement revenue, broadcast and digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, had to say:

"The consolidation wave we are witnessing isn't just about scale; it's about intelligence at scale. As platforms race to construct end-to-end ecosystems, the true differentiators will be those who seamlessly integrate content IP, social assets, and commerce infrastructure with data-driven agility.

The future belongs to the agile—those ready to innovate and collaborate across mediums not just to aggregate audiences, but to solve complex business challenges for clients. Looking toward 2026, I anticipate significant convergence between content creators and distribution hubs, specifically as regional services partner with global tech giants to scale hyper-local content. Consolidation will be as much a technical evolution as a corporate one. The ultimate winners will be those who transform fragmented touchpoints into cohesive, data-driven journeys that deliver measurable value across the entire marketing funnel."

Also read:

'Disney's catalogue and IP would be seamlessly extendable across Apple hardware and software'
'India's next media consolidation will be regional, not corporate'
'Brands are consolidating their trust, budgets, long-term partnerships with independent agencies'
'Consolidation won't shrink agencies; it will rewire them'
'Creativity, culture, and taste won't consolidate; they'll collaborate'
'Legacy networks also stand to benefit the most'