Get ready to update your Paramount+ parental controls.
HBO Max and Paramount+ will be combined into a single direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service if Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. is completed. Discovery. There are still quite a few regulatory hurdles standing in the way.
“We plan to combine the two services together, which today gives us just over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers,” Paramount CEO David Ellison said during a call with investors Monday outlining its broader business plan. “We believe this really positions us to compete with the leaders in this space.”
By mid-2026, Paramount will combine Paramount+, its FAST Pluto TV platform and BET+ “into one unified package,” he said. [HBO Max] Go ahead. We think the combined offering, given the volume of content and what we can do on the technology side, will really put us in a position to compete with the more sophisticated players in DTC.
In other words, Netflix, we’re coming for you. The massive scale of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video is among the main reasons why Ellison went out of his way to bring HBO Max and Discovery+ to the market.
There’s a bit of good news for prestige TV junkies: The HBO brand will continue to “operate independently,” Ellison promised.
It’s a good call.
“Casey[Bloys] “The HBO team is doing an absolutely fantastic job at HBO,” Ellison said. “We’re planning this so we can operate independently, so that HBO can frankly do what it does very well.” Our view is that HBO should remain HBO. They have built a great brand. “They are leaders in this field, and we just want them to keep doing more of it.”
Preaching. Ellison’s personal favorite HBO IP show is game of throneswhich seems very appropriate given the past year of his manipulation.
It was never a given that HBO Max and Paramount+ would merge into one, even after it became a given that Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery will merge. There are pros and cons to the planned merger and the alternative path as the separation continues, as I explained here on Friday. But Ellison seems completely confident in his plan.
In November, I asked Bloys whether he was concerned about HBO’s future — and his job security — in light of the (then) potential takeover by Paramount. At the time, Netflix wasn’t (publicly) in the game.
“I had a town hall meeting a few weeks ago, and I said, ‘The only thing you can do in this process, the best thing you can do, is just focus on your work, which is creating the most impactful programming in whatever genre it is,’” Bloys answered. “It’s kind of a waste of energy, because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Now, having said that, obviously I’m very proud of what we’ve done at HBO and HBO Max. I’d like to see that continue,” he continued. “We’ve all been at HBO for a long time. I’m proud of our track record, but you have to go into these operations with an open mind. A lot of it is out of our hands.”
It’s now completely out of Netflix’s hands, as Warner Bros. By canceling the agreed-upon acquisition of Paramount’s local (and sixth) show. The $2.8 billion breakout fee Netflix has already received should soften that blow a bit.
