LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 21, 2026--
Latin America is emerging as one of the fastest-growing media markets globally, with revenues forecast to reach $65 billion in 2026, representing a 10.7% year-on-year growth, according to new Omdia data presented by Maria Rua Aguete, Head of Media & Entertainment at Omdia, during Content Americas. This growth significantly outpaces the US, which is expected to grow by 6.9% to $453 billion over the same period. LATAM’s expansion is being driven by the rapid adoption of online video, advertising-led models, and innovative formats like microdramas.
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Brazil and Mexico are at the forefront of LATAM’s media expansion. Brazil is the third-largest FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) market globally by revenue, with $152 million, trailing only the US and the UK.
Rua Aguete noted, “What’s happening in Latin America is nothing short of remarkable. From the rise of FAST to the integration of microdramas into platforms like ViX, the region is showcasing how innovation can drive engagement and growth in the global media landscape.”
In terms of usage, Mexico and Brazil rank among the world’s heaviest users of FAST services, with 53% and 40% usage, respectively. Netflix continues to dominate the LATAM streaming market, accounting for nearly 50% of streaming revenues. This success is supported by the rollout of its ad-supported tier and bundling strategies. Meanwhile, content discovery in the region is increasingly mobile-first, with platforms like YouTube and Instagram Reels reaching 97% of adults aged 18–64 in Brazil.
Microdramas: The Next Frontier
Microdramas are rapidly transforming LATAM’s media landscape, with revenues projected to reach $14 billion globally by the end of 2026, including $3 billion generated outside China, according to Omdia. These vertically formatted, mobile-first stories are gaining traction due to their low production costs and high engagement. “Microdramas are no longer a niche experiment. They are becoming a core driver of mobile video engagement,” said Rua Aguete, adding: “What stands out is not just revenue growth, but the intensity of usage. On mobile, microdrama apps are generating more daily viewing time than the world’s biggest streaming platforms.”
TelevisaUnivision’s ViX platform exemplifies the integration of microdramas into AVOD and freemium ecosystems, leveraging short-form storytelling to expand reach, boost engagement, and increase total time spent on the platform. With comparatively lower daily use on mobile, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, are already under threat at losing more ground to these new Microdrama apps, such as DramaBox and ReelShort.
Advertising as the Growth Engine
Advertising has become the primary driver of LATAM’s media growth. In 2025, $42 billion of global online video expansion was attributed to ad-driven models, underscoring the shift away from traditional television and subscription-based monetization strategies. This evolution highlights the growing importance of advertising-led approaches in the region’s media ecosystem.
Strategic Implications for Global Streamers
As global media and entertainment revenues approach $1.2 trillion in 2026, streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ face increasing pressure to close the mobile engagement gap with social platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, where users spend more than an hour per day. The rise of mobile-native formats like microdramas offers a strategic opportunity to capture this growing audience without cannibalizing long-form premium content.
Latin America’s mobile-first consumption patterns, strong advertising markets, and innovative storytelling formats make it a natural testbed for the next phase of global media growth. With online video revenues in the region projected to hit $34 billion in 2026, LATAM is not just keeping pace with global trends—it’s setting the standard for the future of media.
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Microdramas total revenue (USD Bn) outside China - 2023-2026
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump heads to the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday where his ambitions to wrest control of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark could tear relations with European allies and overshadow his original plan to use his appearance at the gathering of global elites to address affordability issues back home.
Trump arrives for the international forum at Davos on the heels of threatening tariffs on Denmark and seven other allies unless they negotiate a transfer of the semi-autonomous territory — a concession the European leaders indicated they are not willing to make. Trump said the tariffs would start at 10% next month and climb to 25% in June, rates that would be high enough to increase costs and slow growth, potentially hurting Trump’s efforts to tamp down the high cost of living.
The president in a text message that circulated among European officials this week also linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize. In the message, he told Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace.”
In the midst of an unusual stretch of testing the United States relations with longtime allies, it seems uncertain what might transpire during Trump's two days in Switzerland.
On Tuesday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a Davos panel he and Trump planned to deliver a stark message: “Globalization has failed the West and the United States of America. It’s a failed policy,” he said.
“This will be an interesting trip,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on Tuesday evening for his flight to Davos. “I have no idea what’s going to happen, but you are well represented.”
In fact, his trip to Davos got off to a difficult start. There was a minor electrical problem on Air Force One, leading the crew to turn around the plane about 30 minutes into the flight out of an abundance of caution and delaying the president's arrival in Switzerland.
Wall Street wobbled on Tuesday as investors weighed Trump's new tariff threats and escalating tensions with European allies. The S&P 500 fell 2.1%, its biggest drop since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.8%. The Nasdaq composite slumped 2.4%.
“It’s clear that we are reaching a time of instability, of imbalances, both from the security and defense point of view, and economic point of view,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in his address to the forum. Macron made no direct mention of Trump but urged fellow leaders to reject acceptance of “the law of the strongest.”
Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned the bloc's response, should Trump move forward with the tariffs, “will be unflinching, united and proportional." She pointedly suggested that Trump's new tariff threat could also undercut a US-EU trade framework reached this summer that the Trump administration worked hard to to seal.
“The European Union and the United States have agreed to a trade deal last July,” von der Leyen said in Davos. “And in politics as in business — a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.”
Trump, ahead of the address, said he planned on using his Davos appearance to talk about making housing more attainable and other affordability issues that are top priorities for Americans.
But Trump’s Greenland tariff threat could disrupt the U.S. economy if it blows up the trade truce reached last year between the U.S. and the EU, said Scott Lincicome, a tariff critic and vice president on economic issues at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
“Significantly undermining investors' confidence in the U.S. economy in the longer term would likely increase interest rates and thus make homes less affordable,” Lincicome said.
Trump also on Tuesday warned Europe against retaliatory action for the coming new tariffs.
“Anything they do with us, I’ll just meet it,” Trump said on NewsNation’s “Katie Pavlich Tonight.” “All I have to do is meet it, and it’s going to go ricocheting backward.”
Davos — a forum known for its appeal to the global elite — is an odd backdrop for a speech on affordability. But White House officials have promoted it as a moment for Trump to try to rekindle populist support back in the U.S., where many voters who backed him in 2024 view affordability as a major problem. About six in 10 U.S. adults now say that Trump has hurt the cost of living, according to the latest survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
U.S. home sales are at a 30-year low with rising prices and elevated mortgage rates keeping many prospective buyers out of the market. So far, Trump has announced plans to buy $200 billion in mortgage securities to help lower interest rates on home loans, and has called for a ban on large financial companies buying houses.
The White House has said Trump plans to meet with leaders on the sidelines of the forum, after he gives his keynote address. There are more than 60 other heads of state attending.
On Thursday, Trump plans to have an event to talk about the “Board of Peace,” a new body meant to oversee the end of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and possibly take on a broader mandate, potentially rivaling the United Nations.
Fewer than 10 leaders have accepted invitations to join the group so far, including a handful of leaders considered to be anti-democratic authoritarians. Several of America’s main European partners have declined or been noncommittal, including Britain, France and Germany.
Trump on Tuesday told reporters that his peace board “might” eventually make the U.N. obsolete but insisted he wants to see the international body stick around.
“I believe you got to let the U.N. continue, because the potential is so great," Trump said.
Madhani reported from Washington.
Things are unloaded from Air Force One after the plane, carrying President Donald Trump to the World Economic Form in Davos, experienced a minor electrical issue after departure, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, and returned to Joint Base Andrews, Md. Trump will board a second plane to complete the trip. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
