First quarter dealmaking for 2026 sent some mixed signals and that story continued in the second quarter, albeit in different ways, but still suggesting that peak deal activity could be in the past. Second quarter deals declined modestly overall (-1.8 percent), due to a continuing drop in reports from digital publishers (exacerbated by our integration of mature digital publishers into the general categories at the beginning of this year). Deals in the core categories were up 2 percent (lifted by that same recategorization). Adult sales reached a five-year high for the period, powered by continuing growth in fiction, up 13.3 […]
