Eddy Cue wins 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year award

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services and health, walked away from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France on Saturday with one of the industry’s most coveted individual honors: the 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year award. It’s a big win for the person in charge of Apple TV.

Eddy Cue wins 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year

Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook presented the award to Cue at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, recognizing his role in reshaping how audiences worldwide experience storytelling through Apple TV and a sprawling portfolio of digital services. The honor acknowledges figures whose creative vision influences the broader marketing and entertainment landscape — and this year, the festival pointed squarely at Apple’s rise as a cultural force in streaming, Apple said.

A platform built on quality, not volume

Accepting the award, Cue drew a clear line in the sand between Apple’s approach and that of its streaming competitors.

“We’ve never strived to be the most,” he told the audience. “We strive to be the best. When we started Apple TV nearly seven years ago, we said, let’s build the place that allows the best storytellers in the world to do their best work.”

That philosophy has produced some of the most talked-about television of the past few years. Apple TV has claimed the top spot for critically acclaimed original programming among all streaming services for five years running. Shows like Severance, The Studio, Ted Lasso and Pluribus have turned the platform into a destination for prestige content. The Studio recently earned the distinction of being the most-awarded freshman comedy series of all time, while Severance took home more Emmy awards for drama than any other series last year.

Apple Original Films has also been making noise at the box office. The Formula 1 racing drama F1: The Movie, produced in partnership with legendary Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, won an Academy Award and shattered records to become the highest-grossing sports film in cinema history.

Bruckheimer joins Cue on stage

Earlier in the day, Cue and Bruckheimer shared the Cannes Lions stage for a keynote conversation about their creative partnership. The two discussed F1 and revealed that Bruckheimer will team up again with director Joseph Kosinski — who helmed F1 — on an upcoming feature centered on UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena).

The Bruckheimer partnership illustrates how Apple has sought to lure Hollywood’s biggest names rather than simply outspend rivals on volume content.

Cue elaborated on the emotional power behind that strategy during his acceptance remarks: “Stories can make you laugh, cry, think and many other emotions. They connect us. Across language, across culture, across everything. That’s what we’re all about at Apple, so stay tuned for more. We’re just getting started.”

A broad empire, not just streaming

While Apple TV headlines Cue’s entertainment portfolio, his oversight at Apple extends far beyond the streaming service. He also runs Apple Music, which recently hit all-time highs in both listener count and new subscriber growth. And he helms Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, Apple News, Apple Fitness+, Apple Pay, Apple Card, Apple Maps and iCloud.

On the sports front, Cue oversees Apple’s exclusive U.S. broadcast rights for Formula 1 racing, along with landmark partnerships with Major League Soccer through MLS Season Pass and Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV. Time magazine recently included Apple among the world’s most influential entertainment companies, a nod to the reach Cue and his teams have built.

Get Apple TV

Apple TV is available by subscription for $12.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac can enjoy three months of Apple TV for free.

In November 2019, Apple TV “became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 840 wins and 3,600 award nominations and counting,” the service said.

David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.

With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.

Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.

Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.