Silvana D’Angelo, CEO of Glowstar Media, spoke with Newsline Report about the state of the audiovisual industry within the framework of MIP Cancun 2025, one of the company’s key strategic events. With nearly three decades of experience and nine years leading Glowstar, D’Angelo shares her view on the business, its current transformations, and the challenges that will define the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026.
The executive explains that the company operates under a dual model: content production and distribution, along with the management and representation of both its own IP and third-party properties. For Glowstar, MIP Cancun remains a crucial market, especially for presenting original projects and seeking strategic partners.
This year, the company brings a focused yet strategic slate:
- True-crime projects based on real cases with strong public resonance.
- New developments in comedies and romantic comedies for feature films.
- Drama- and thriller-driven series.
Vertical content and microdramas: exploring with caution
Regarding emerging trends, the CEO acknowledges the rise of vertical content and microdramas. However, Glowstar is approaching them strategically:
“It’s not our current focus. We need to understand their business model more deeply before getting involved. We don’t venture into anything we don’t have experience in.”
The company has received proposals and materials for distribution but prefers to move forward only when the monetization chain and the real market demand are fully clear.
Branded content and organic brand integration
Glowstar Media already has experience in brand integration within productions and recognizes that this trend will continue to grow:
“Brands are playing a major role in content financing. What matters is integrating them organically.”
A complex, resilient year of constant reinvention
D’Angelo offers a frank assessment of the close of 2025:
“It was a year of effort and resilience. The market is tighter, budgets are smaller, but that doesn’t mean the business is closed. We just need to be more competitive and selective.”
She highlights the strong participation observed across recent markets, which in her view confirms that the industry remains active despite the challenges.
She adds that 2025 was marked by flexibility and a constant search for new business models in response to a shifting global landscape.
2026: the year of AI’s true impact
One major development D’Angelo anticipates is the growing role of artificial intelligence in audiovisual production:
“2026 will be the breakthrough year for AI. In six to eight months, we’ll start seeing remarkable quality—especially in environments, settings, and technical processes.”
For her, AI will not replace the heart of content—the story itself—but it will lower costs and enable productions that today would be unfeasible.
She emphasizes that despite changes in formats, screens, and budgets, the value of a strong story remains constant.
Toward a marketplace of alliances and collaboration
According to D’Angelo, the most defining characteristic of today’s industry is collaboration:
“Today, we all buy and sell. We are all partners. Even platforms are looking for support from producers. It’s a moment of bigger alliances than ever.”
While she acknowledges that 2026 will continue to bring challenges, she also anticipates a landscape with less uncertainty and greater clarity for the business.
@Newsline Report 2025
