Skydance to merge HBO Max and Paramount+ into one streaming service

Skydance, the media company formed from the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, has announced plans to eventually combine its streaming apps into one service. The disclosure came alongside confirmation that the company's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. had closed—a nearly year-long process that was briefly halted by a multi-state lawsuit before Paramount reached a settlement in late September.

While Skydance offered no specifics on timing or branding, it confirmed that its streaming offerings—HBO Max, Paramount+ and Discovery+—"will unify into a single service over time."

A plan long in the works

Reports of a combined service surfaced earlier this year. In March, Variety reported that Skydance CEO David Ellison intended to merge Paramount+ and HBO Max, creating a platform with roughly 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers. Ellison said at the time that HBO would continue to operate independently after the deal closed. That intention appears reflected in Skydance's decision to name HBO CEO Casey Bloys as Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer of Skydance DTC, suggesting the company wants HBO's reputation for quality to extend across its broader content slate.

Possible layoffs and higher prices

Consolidating content libraries and trimming redundancies is standard practice following media mergers—HBO Max itself is an example, having folded in Discovery's reality and documentary catalog since relaunching from Max in 2023. Such integrations, however, often come with downsides, including layoffs, which Skydance has already warned staff to expect, and price increases. Skydance has not yet revealed a name or price for its planned unified service, but given the substantial debt taken on to finance the merger, customers may end up paying more than they do currently.