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The Evolving Landscape of Content Acquisition in 2025

The global M&E industry is in a state of continuous flux, and the year 2025 is no exception. As reported by PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2025–2029, total industry revenue is projected to increase to US$3.5 trillion by 2029, a growth fueled by new business models and technological shifts.

The proliferation of streaming platforms, for example, has forced a pivot from subscriber-only models to ad-supported tiers, with Netflix expecting its ad revenue to “roughly double” in 2025. This has a direct impact on content buying, as companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime are now looking for a wider variety of content to fill these ad-supported channels and drive subscription growth.

In my analysis, this market evolution has created two parallel streams of content acquisition. On one hand, the traditional major studios such as Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Disney continue to dominate the market with their established brands and extensive distribution networks. However, their market concentration is increasingly challenged by the rise of streaming platforms, independent production companies, and new entrants from high-growth regions like India and the Middle East.

The rise of AI-driven media deals is also a significant trend for 2025, with buyers prioritizing firms with embedded AI capabilities for content automation and ad targeting, according to BDO’s analysis of M&A trends. This signals a strategic shift in what buyers are looking for—not just content, but content that comes with a competitive edge.

Beyond the Obvious: Why Traditional Lists Fall Short

The concept of a static “top 10” list of content buyers for a given year is, in my professional opinion, a flawed premise. An executive relying on such a list is operating on incomplete data. The reality is that the term “content buyer” is no longer monolithic.

The search results I have analyzed demonstrate this clearly: a search for “top content buyers” returns results for “content marketing agencies”, “user acquisition companies”, and even lists of film markets and festivals. These are not the entities that are buying the rights to feature films and TV series.

Furthermore, the M&E market is not uniform. The most active buyers in the Indian market, such as T-Series and Shemaroo Entertainment, operate with completely different deal structures and priorities than their Hollywood counterparts. As one Vitrina report notes, many global buyers still rely on outdated Excel lists to track Indian distributors, creating massive risk and broken pipeline visibility.

This fragmented, opaque market structure highlights a critical pain point: the lack of a centralized, verified source of information. My analysis has found that relying on generic lists or broad market overviews is insufficient to conduct due diligence, vet for IP conflicts, or understand the specific rights a buyer is seeking (e.g., theatrical vs. digital vs. remake rights).

For a detailed analysis of the strategies that global streamers are employing to compete, you can read more in my strategic overview: The AVoD Shift: An Executive’s Guide to the Streaming Wars.

An Executive’s Guide to Identifying Top Content Buyers in 2025

Instead of a static list, a senior executive must adopt a strategic framework for identifying and engaging with top content buyers. This framework is based on three core pillars: understanding buyer mandates, tracking deal flow, and leveraging verified data. My research indicates that a successful approach is not about a single list, but about building an intelligent, dynamic pipeline.

1. Understand the Mandate of Today’s Top Content Buyers

As I’ve noted, the acquisition mandate for a buyer in 2025 is a complex interplay of business models. Is the buyer a major studio like Warner Bros., focused on building a library and leveraging existing IP for long-term value? Or are they a streaming platform focused on regional growth and filling their ad-supported tiers with a diverse content portfolio? A buyer’s focus on a specific market (e.g., North America’s dominance) or a particular genre (e.g., action in India) dictates their acquisition strategy. To identify top buyers, you must first profile their current needs and strategic goals, which can change rapidly.

2. Track Deal Flow and M&A Activity

Market intelligence is a competitive advantage. The BDO report on M&A trends for 2025 highlights a shift from defensive consolidation to proactive growth, with more bolt-on activity and fresh investments expected in the second half of the year. The most active buyers are not just acquiring content—they are acquiring companies and platforms. Knowing who is making strategic investments and where is a clear indicator of their long-term buying priorities. This requires real-time monitoring of deals, partnerships, and key leadership changes, something a search engine query cannot provide.

3. Leverage a Verified Network for Partner Discovery

The key to overcoming fragmentation is to use a centralized, verified source of data. A platform like Vitrina, for example, is used by content acquisition leads to find regional content and distributors. It’s a tool for finding “co-pro partners, buyer profiling and preferences”. Instead of searching for a list of companies, an executive should be searching for a solution that tracks projects in real-time, links collaborators, and provides verified contacts.

This shifts the focus from a passive search for a list to an active, intelligence-led process of partner discovery. For a deeper look into the modern approach to partnerships, I recommend my article, The Modern Approach to Film Financing & Co-Production.

Conclusion: Preparing for an AI-Driven Future

The question of who the “top content buyers” are in 2025 is not a simple one. The answer isn’t a list; it’s a living, breathing set of opportunities defined by dynamic market forces, strategic acquisitions, and an increasing reliance on data.

The most successful executives will be those who move beyond outdated, static resources and adopt a proactive, intelligence-driven approach to partner discovery. By focusing on understanding buyer mandates, tracking M&A activity, and leveraging a verified, real-time data platform, you can gain a significant competitive advantage in a complex and rapidly evolving market.

The future of content acquisition is not about who you know—it’s about how you use data to discover who you need to know, before anyone else does. This is the strategic imperative for every M&E professional seeking to lead in 2025 and beyond.