FOX, ABC, Lego, NFL and Mattel Lead 2026 Broadcast and Entertainment Loyalty Rankings

Results of the 28th Annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI) reveal a pivotal shift in the brand landscape as consumer expectations jumped 32% year-over-year – the largest single-year increase since the survey’s inception in 1998. This surge in expectations has transformed the competitive terrain, with 40% of product and service categories identifying new #1 brands in their ability to meet evolving consumer demands.

The CLEI, conducted annually by Brand Keys (brandkeys.com), a New York-based brand loyalty and engagement research firm, measures how effectively brands create loyalty, which is the most reliable predictor of consumer behavior, sales, market share, and profitability.

A Historic Inflection Point

“This year marks an historic moment,” said Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys. “Expectations are rising faster than brands are improving. Consumers want more from brands across every touchpoint, and they reward brands that deliver. Long-time loyalty leaders are being challenged by brands that better anticipate and deliver what matters most to consumers.”

Who Customers Rated #1 in 2026

This year’s engagement and loyalty leaders reflect not only brand performance but cultural relevance and the ability to meet – or exceed – rapidly rising brand category expectations. A sample of 2026’s top-ranked broadcast and entertainment category brands includes:

• Evening News (Cable): FOX
• Evening News (Network): ABC
• Gaming: Tetris / FIFA
• Headphones: Apple
• Major League Sports: NFL
• Morning News (Cable): Fox and Friends
• Morning News (Network): Today
• Streaming Video: Amazon / Netflix
• Ticket Sales: Ticketmaster
• Toys: Lego / Mattel

Beyond rankings, the CLEI provides in-depth diagnostics of category-specific loyalty drivers, the consumer expectations tied to each driver, and the attributes, benefits, and values that contribute to engagement, loyalty, and profitability.

A complete list of the 2026 CLEI Brand Loyalty Award winners can be found here.

Loyalty’s Outsized Impact on Profitability

The 2026 CLEI underscores what Brand Keys initially identified and has documented for more than 30 years: loyalty is the most powerful driver of profitability. This year’s data shows:

• Retention costs remain 17–25 times lower than acquisition costs – a 26% increase since 1997.
• A 5% increase in loyalty can now yield up to 88% higher lifetime profits per customer.
• A 2% rise in loyalty can deliver as much as a 29% reduction in across-the-board marketing and operational costs.

“These dynamics are why loyalty’s correlation with market share remains so strong – 0.87,” said Passikoff. “Loyal customers are six times more likely to engage, repurchase, and amplify brand messaging. The bottom line: loyalty moves markets.”

Long-term leaders continued to dominate in certain sectors: Discover (Credit Cards, 28 years), Domino’s (Pizza, 22 years), Dunkin’ (Out-of-Home Coffee, 20 years), Konica Minolta (MFP Copiers, 19 years), Hyundai and AT&T Wireless (17 years), and Amazon (15 years).

Yet stability no longer guarantees category leadership. The 2026 findings highlight disruption: with 40% of categories reporting new top-performing brands. “Elevated consumer expectations are shifting the rules of loyalty engagement, and brands that fail to adapt risk being overtaken,” said Passikoff.

The New Loyalty Paradigm

“The loyalty paradigm has fundamentally changed,” Passikoff noted. “Awareness and satisfaction aren’t enough. Those are but ‘table stakes.’ Today’s loyalty is more complex, more measurable, and far more predictive. If done right. Brands that align with what consumers truly expect – emotionally and functionally – will see deeper engagement, greater market share, and higher profits.”

Methodology

For the 2026 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI) survey 80,826 consumers, 16 to 65 years of age, from the nine US Census Regions. Respondents self-selected categories in which they are consumers and assessed brands for which they are customers using an independently validated combination of psychological inquiry and higher order statistical analyses (test/re-test reliability 0.93 and results generalizable at the 95% confidence level). Brand Keys assessments have been successfully used in B2B, B2C, and D2C categories in 35 countries. This year, Brand Keys examined 1,119 brands in 106 categories.