Blockchain technology is gaining a bigger role in media and entertainment as companies look for better ways to verify digital content, protect intellectual property and manage licensing. A new market forecast suggests that content authentication could become one of the industry's fastest-growing applications, creating new opportunities for blockchain infrastructure providers.
According to a report published by Credence Research on October 23, the global blockchain in media and entertainment market is projected to grow from $748 million in 2025 to $868.5 million in 2026, before reaching $3.33 billion by 2035. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 16.11%.
The report identifies digital collectibles and gaming assets as the largest application segment, accounting for 42.5% of market value in 2025. However, content provenance and authentication is expected to grow fastest, at an annual rate of 25.5%.
AI Creates a Growing Market for Content Authentication
The growing use of artificial intelligence is increasing the amount of digital content available online while making its origins harder to establish. AI tools can generate realistic images, videos and audio, creating new challenges for publishers, entertainment companies and intellectual property owners.
Blockchain-based systems can provide records of content registration, ownership claims and licensing transactions. These records can help companies trace digital assets and establish a clearer history of how they have been used.
Microsoft Research explored this issue in a January 2026 report on media integrity and authentication. The researchers examined technologies including cryptographically secured content provenance, digital watermarking and fingerprinting to help distinguish authentic media from content generated or modified by AI.
The research supports the growing importance of content authentication as digital media becomes more difficult to verify. For blockchain providers, this creates an opportunity to supply infrastructure that helps businesses track content and manage rights.
The commercial appeal extends beyond news and entertainment. Music labels, film studios, gaming companies and digital publishers all manage intellectual property that can be distributed across multiple platforms and licensed to different users.
Digital Collectibles Remain the Largest Market Segment
Despite the growing focus on content verification, digital collectibles and gaming assets remain the biggest source of blockchain activity in the media and entertainment industry.
These applications allow users to hold digital items associated with games, entertainment brands and fan communities. Blockchain records can help establish ownership of these assets and support transactions between users and platforms.
Companies including Immutable, Dapper Labs and Animoca Brands operate in gaming, digital collectibles and related blockchain ecosystems. Their businesses illustrate how blockchain can connect digital ownership with entertainment products.
However, the projected growth of content provenance suggests that the market could expand beyond consumer-facing products. Rights management, licensing and authentication offer additional ways for blockchain providers to generate revenue from software, infrastructure and business services.
For investors, this development shifts attention toward companies that can build lasting relationships with content owners and integrate blockchain into existing commercial operations.
Sony and Fox Highlight the Shift Toward Intellectual Property
Established media companies are already exploring blockchain applications beyond collectible assets.
Sony's Soneium network announced support for an intellectual property licensing standard in October 2026. Its September partnership with DayOneDream also targeted tokenized K-pop intellectual property, connecting blockchain with entertainment rights and fan engagement.
Fox Corporation has developed Verify, an initiative focused on content authenticity and licensing, showing how media businesses can use technology to organize information about their content and its permitted uses.
Such initiatives could help make intellectual property easier to track and license across digital platforms. They also provide blockchain infrastructure providers with opportunities to serve established businesses rather than depending entirely on demand for new tokens and collectibles.
Content Verification Could Drive Blockchain's Next Growth Phase
Credence Research's forecast points to a market that is gradually becoming shaped by practical business needs. With spending on blockchain media and entertainment services projected to reach $3.33 billion by 2035, content authentication and rights management could become important sources of industry growth.
Expert research reinforces the importance of this direction. Microsoft Research's findings show that content provenance, watermarking and fingerprinting are becoming central to efforts to establish the origin and history of digital media.
Blockchain can contribute by maintaining verifiable records, while broader authentication systems help establish how content was created or modified. This gives the technology a potential role in the infrastructure supporting digital publishing, entertainment licensing and AI-generated media.
For blockchain companies, the opportunity lies in making these services easy for businesses to adopt. Providers that help media organizations manage rights and verify content could benefit as demand grows.
The market's next phase is therefore likely to be driven increasingly by the practical value of blockchain infrastructure. As AI transforms content production, verifying ownership and origin could become one of the industry's most important commercial applications.
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