Paramount and Warner Bros to combine streaming services
Paramount will combine its Paramount+ streaming service with HBO Max following a successful bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount CEO David Ellison said the companies plan to consolidate their streaming portfolios onto a single platform in the coming years.
The services currently have more than 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers in more than 100 countries, but some overlap is expected to reduce this figure once the integration is complete.
Paramount ended the fourth quarter with 78.9 million subscribers, while Warner Bros. Discovery reported 131.6 million subscribers. By comparison, Netflix recently surpassed 325 million subscribers.
The combined service will bring together major series including Paramount’s Yellowstone and Star Trek, as well as HBO’s Game of Thrones and The Sopranos.
Ellison did not announce a name for the new platform; this would mean another rebranding for HBO Max, following previous iterations as Max and HBO Now.
As part of the transaction, Paramount will also acquire US broadcaster CNN. Ellison said there are no current plans to divest cable assets.
The planned merger follows a search for a rival by Netflix, which eventually abandoned a bidding war for Warner after deciding the financial terms of the deal were no longer attractive.
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