HBO Max and Paramount Plus will be combined into a single streaming platform, should the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery be completed.
In an investor call earlier today, Paramount CEO David Ellison outlined some of the plans for the combined service, stating, "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. At Paramount, by the middle of this year, we'll have completed the consolidation of our three services under one unified stack, and you can see us taking a similar approach to this platform going forward."
It's not clear at this time if HBO Max will appear as a tile within Paramount Plus or be fully integrated into the service. Ellison was keen to stress, however, that the HBO brand would continue and "operate with independence."
"Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO," Ellison stated. "They built a phenomenal brand. They are a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it. But by bringing the platforms together, all of our content will be able to reach even a broader audience than we can do standalone." He also went on to cite Game of Thrones as his favorite HBO show.
The moves follow in the wake of Paramount's "superior proposal" to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, which beat out Netflix's attempt to merge with Warner Bros. It also comes just weeks after it was announced that HBO Max is finally set to launch in the UK, five years after the service launched worldwide.
