In 2017, when Star Trek: Discovery launched its debut episodes on the network CBS, but streamed the rest of its series on the then-burgeoning subscription service, CBS All Access, half of the discourse around the show was hyper-focused on whether or not viewers would be willing to pay a subscription to watch it. This is hard to remember, but the dawn of streaming originals didn’t happen until 2012, when House of Cards hit Netflix, meaning the transformation of how people watch 21st-century TV is less than two decades old. And, less than 10 years ago, most bets were not on CBS All Access to become the dominant streaming platform of the future. And yet, a few mergers later, and here we are: When the impending Paramount and Warner Bros. deal is finalized, the most obvious change that the average viewer can expect is simple: Paramount+ and HBO Max will almost certainly be combined or, at the very least, bundled in the same way Hulu and Disney+ are today.
As confirmed by Deadline on June 12, the Justice Department has approved Paramount’s purchase of Warner Brothers Discovery, which is expected to result in a massive merger of the two studios. Not since Disney merged with 20th Century Fox in 2019 has there been a consolidation of entertainment power of this size.
