Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Paramount Skydance plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount Plus into one streaming platform after its Warner Bros. Discovery merger closes.
- The combined service would total over 200 million subscribers, aiming to better compete with other industry leaders.
- Paramount says HBO will continue operating independently as a brand despite the platform merger.
Streaming was already a crowded field, but it seems that consolidation is officially back on the menu. Paramount Skydance plans to combine Paramount Plus and HBO Max into a single streaming platform once its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery is completed.
According to Variety, Paramount CEO David Ellison confirmed the plan during an investor call on Monday. Together, the two services account for a little over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers, a scale Ellison suggested would better position the merged company to compete with the biggest players in streaming.
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What the new service will actually look like is still unclear. It’s not known whether HBO Max will remain as a separate tile within a broader app or be fully integrated. Ellison emphasized that HBO, as a brand, would “operate with independence,” praising HBO chief Casey Bloys and saying the network should continue developing and programming content without heavy oversight from Paramount executives.
The strategy appears to be simple: combine content libraries, unify the tech stack, and compete on scale with the likes of Netflix and others. Paramount is already consolidating its own services internally, and the merged platform would follow a similar approach.
The announcement comes after a bidding contest for Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets. Netflix reportedly offered $27.75 per share, but Paramount raised its bid to $31 per share, which WBD’s board accepted as the superior proposal. Netflix declined to increase its offer, paving the way for the formal merger announcement last week.
If the deal closes as planned, HBO Max and Paramount Plus won’t stay separate for long. The next phase of the streaming wars may be less about launching new services and more about stitching them together to compete for market share.
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