HBO Max and Paramount+ to be merged into one streaming service
Source: 9to5Mac
Paramount is acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery after beating Netflix’s purchase offer, and CEO David Ellison just shared what that means for the companies’ two streaming platforms: HBO Max and Paramount+.
Paramount CEO announces plans for HBO Max integration after Warner Bros acquisition closes
Last week in a major shift in the Hollywood landscape, Netflix dropped its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery, leaving Paramount Skydance as the winning bidder.
Netflix struck a deal with WBD back in early December to acquire the company, minus its linear TV assets, for about $83 billion.
But Paramount continued making the case for its own proposals, and this past week it finally sweetened the offer enough to be accepted by WBD. Netflix was expected to counter, but instead it dropped out of the race altogether.
Now today, Paramount CEO David Ellison has revealed new details about its plans post‑merger.
One such plan: HBO Max and Paramount+ will be combined into a single streaming service.
Paramount+ and HBO Max will be combined into one streaming service if regulators approve Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount CEO David Ellison said on a conference call Monday. A combined service would have about 200 million subscribers given existing totals, Ellison said during his company’s investor call about the WBD transaction. […]
Paramount executives didn’t offer any details Monday on how the company may price a combined service or what it would be called. Still, Ellison said he wouldn’t disrupt the HBO brand. “HBO should stay HBO,” he said, citing its long history of quality programming. HBO is likely to be a sub‑brand within the larger service, according to a person familiar with Paramount’s plans.
It will be interesting to see which brand becomes dominant in the naming. Currently, HBO Max is a larger streaming service, which might suggest its name will be retained while Paramount’s is dropped.
But the fact that Paramount Skydance is the company acquiring WBD and HBO Max might mean Paramount’s branding gets top billing.
The combined service could also potentially get its own, brand‑new name.
In any case, if the Paramount‑WBD merger is ultimately approved by regulators, there will be one less major streaming service available soon.