Cannes Lions Names Apple's Eddy Cue Its 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year

Apple's senior vice president of Services and Health, Eddy Cue, will be honored as the 2026 Entertainment Person of the Year at the Cannes Lions Festival next month.



The award recognizes Cue's role in shaping Apple's entertainment ecosystem and expanding the company's influence across streaming, music, sports, news, and financial services. Cannes Lions credited Cue with helping transform Apple TV into one of the industry's most critically acclaimed streaming platforms since its launch just over six years ago.


Under Cue's leadership, Apple TV has released award-winning series and films including The Studio, Severance, and Ted Lasso. Cannes Lions noted that The Studio recently became the most-awarded freshman comedy series of all time, while Severance was last year's most Emmy-awarded drama series. Apple Original Films' F1 also became the highest-grossing sports film of all time.

Cannes Lions also highlighted Apple's broader entertainment and services business under Cue, including Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, Apple Books, Fitness+, Apple Pay, Apple Card, Apple Maps, and iCloud. Apple Music recently reached all-time highs in listenership and new subscribers, while Apple has continued expanding its sports business through partnerships with Formula 1, Major League Soccer, and Friday Night Baseball.

"Eddy Cue has consistently pushed the boundaries of entertainment and storytelling, building platforms and experiences that have redefined how audiences engage with culture," said Simon Cook, CEO of Lions. "Under his leadership, Apple has not only produced world-class content but has also shaped the future of entertainment through innovation, creativity and an unwavering commitment to quality."

Cue will deliver a keynote seminar alongside legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer on June 22 before receiving the award during that evening's Cannes Lions Awards Show.