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Press release · WCRC Intelligence Unit · Media, Entertainment & Sport · Most Powerful Brands 2026

LEGO leads WCRC's 2026 media and entertainment table as streaming and sport close in

A WCRC analysis of 28 media, entertainment, gaming and sport brands across its World, America, UK and Europe Most Powerful 100 rankings finds play, streaming and football ahead of traditional broadcasters.

By WCRC Intelligence Unit · Published 13 November 2026 · For immediate release
Media, Entertainment & Sport: WCRC Most Powerful Brands 2026 industry analysis cover

13 November 2026. LEGO is the most powerful media and entertainment brand in WCRC's 2026 rankings, with a WCRC Power Score of 86.04. It is #1 in Europe's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 and #2 in the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026, behind only Apple.

The analysis, published today by the WCRC Intelligence Unit, covers 28 entertainment, streaming, social, gaming, publishing and sport brands ranked in the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026, America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026, the UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 and Europe's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026.

YouTube (82.66), Netflix (81.83), Disney (80.54) and Japan's Nintendo (80.50) follow LEGO. Real Madrid (78.50, #8 in Europe, #23 in the world) is the most powerful sports brand, and Formula 1 (76.94) is #2 in the UK.

Fourteen media brands are in the World's Most Powerful 100, more than from any other industry except technology. Meta owns three ranked brands (WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook), and Microsoft and Disney own two each.

LEGO reported revenue of DKK 83.5bn for FY2025, up 12%, and Netflix $45.2bn, up 15.9%, as per company filings. Formula 1's revenue rose 14.0%. Warner Bros.' parent reported revenue down 5.2%.

“The strongest entertainment brands give people something to do, not just something to watch. LEGO, Nintendo, Real Madrid and Formula 1 all turn fans into participants. Streaming platforms have caught up with the studios, and the traditional broadcasters are now the ones defending their place.”

WCRC Intelligence Unit

The leaders in each ranking

  • World's Most Powerful 100LEGO #2 · 86.04
  • US Most Powerful 100YouTube #4 · 82.66
  • UK Most Powerful 100Formula 1 #2 · 76.94
  • Europe Most Powerful 100LEGO #1 · 86.04

Read the full report: all 28 brands

Notes to editors

  • The analysis covers World's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 (14 brands); America's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 (12 brands); UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 (9 brands); Europe's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026 (6 brands).
  • Revenue figures are as per company filings for the latest available financial year.
  • Only brands whose owners publish financial results were considered for these rankings.
  • Ranked brands may licence their WCRC badge for marketing use. Contact consulting@wcrcint.com.

About WCRC. WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting) is an independent research and consulting organisation. It publishes brand rankings including the World's Most Powerful 100 Brands, regional and national Most Powerful 100 Brands rankings, and national Most Trusted D2C Brands rankings, through its sites wcrcint.com, wcrcleaders.com and mostvaluablebrands.com. The WCRC Intelligence Unit publishes research briefings and industry analysis.

Media contact. WCRC Intelligence Unit, consulting@wcrcint.com

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Disclaimers

  1. Who was considered. Only brands whose owners publish financial results were considered for the underlying rankings. Brands that do not publish their financials have not been assessed or ranked. Not being in this analysis says nothing about a brand's quality.
  2. Source of every fact. This analysis uses only the facts published in WCRC's 2026 rankings named on this page, each checked twice against independent public sources. Scores, ranks and facts are as published in those rankings.
  3. Comparing scores. Brands from different rankings in the same family share one scoring method, so their scores can be read side by side. Scores marked provisional are WCRC desk assessments awaiting validation by the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit.
  4. Independent opinion. This analysis is WCRC's independent research and opinion, based on publicly available information as of November 2026. It is not an endorsement of any brand.
  5. Not a valuation or advice. Scores measure brand strength. They are not a financial valuation, and nothing here is investment, financial or purchasing advice.
  6. Revenue. Revenue is shown as per company filings for the latest available financial year. Where only group revenue is published, the group figure is shown and labelled. WCRC has not audited any figure.
  7. Trademarks. Brand names and trademarks belong to their owners and are used here for identification only. Their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by WCRC.
  8. Use of the badge. Ranked brands may use their WCRC badge only as provided, unaltered and linked to their ranking page. Any other use of the WCRC name, badge or data needs WCRC's written permission.
  9. Rights and AI. © 2026 WCRC. All rights reserved. WCRC's scoring methods are proprietary. Copying, text and data mining, and use of this content to train artificial intelligence models are not permitted without written permission; WCRC expressly reserves these rights, including under Article 4 of EU Directive 2019/790.
  10. Corrections. To report an error or ask for a review, write to consulting@wcrcint.com. Corrections are made promptly.