HBO Max and Paramount+ to Become One Streaming Service
HBO Max and Paramount+ will become one service. David Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Skydance, laid out the plan at a press event on the Paramount lot to mark the closing of the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger, as reported by Deadline. For viewers, it points to one app and one subscription instead of two.
In the short term, the two services will keep running separately. Bundling, meaning the two sold together in one offer, will be accelerated in the relatively short term, Ellison said. The long-term plan is to bring them together into a single service over time.
Ellison also pointed to the plumbing behind the apps. The company has already brought together the tech stacks, meaning the software systems that run each service, for Paramount+, BET+ and Pluto TV. Centralisation of the tech after the merger close will happen as quickly as possible, he said.
The streaming plan follows the close of the deal behind it. Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating Skydance as a new global entertainment company, according to a company announcement on 6 October 2026 carried by Paramount. The merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, valued at $81 billion, has officially completed, the New York Post reported. Skydance had taken over Paramount in August 2025.
New leadership is already in place. Ynon Kreiz will serve as co-CEO of the combined company alongside Ellison, who will lead strategy, creative and technology. Ellison and Kreiz announced their chief executive leadership team on 5 October 2026. Directors added at closing include Kreiz, Laurene Powell Jobs and Bobby Kotick, with Tony Blair as adviser.
Some earlier detail gives a sense of scale. Paramount has said in an SEC filing that the deal tries to combine the number four streamer with the number five streamer, reaching round numbers of 200 million. Paramount has also said the HBO brand will operate with independence when the platforms combine, Variety reported in March 2026.
For fans, this means patience for now. Viewers keep using the separate apps. The shift will come first as a bundle offer, then as one service later on.
