©Courtesy of Paramount +
Paramount Skydance intends to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming service after the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. is finished, speaking on an investor call on Monday outlining his broader business plan, Paramount CEO David Ellison confirmed.
Ellison said: “We do plan to put the two services together, which today gives us a little over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers. We think that really positions us to compete with the leaders in the space.”
Paramount is already in the process of consolidating Paramount+, its FAST platform Pluto TV, and BET+ into a single unified stack by mid-2026, and you can expect us to take a similar approach to HBO Max going forward.
The objective is to compete with the most diverse players in DTC, while also directly attempting to compete with major players such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime.
Ellison Las mentioned that the HBO brand will continue to “operate with independence… our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO, they are a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it”.
The merged company is anticipated to have debt of approximately $79 billion, with a plan to cut costs by $6 billion.
Ellison reiterated his commitment to both studios, with the goal of releasing 15 films per year, each with a 45-day theatrical window.