Paramount+ and HBO Max will fuse into one streaming service

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery have struck a deal to purchase the company, and its extremely valuable subsidiaries, plus IP, for $31 per share, following Netflix officially walking away from the table.

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Warner Bros. Discovery made itself up for grabs last year, and Netflix quickly jumped at the opportunity to obtain many new forms of IP it could use to bolster its media offerings, along with services that it currently doesn't have under its expansive umbrella. Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to be acquired by Netflix for $82.7 billion back in December 2025, but that deal was quickly challenged by Paramount Skydance, which offered $108.4 billion, an offer $25.7 billion larger than Netflix.

Netflix recently stated it will not be matching Paramount Skydance's offer, which included a $7 billion regulatory termination fee if the deal fails when it reaches regulators, and a $2.8 billion breakup fee if Warner Bros. Discovery walked away from the deal with Netflix. Now, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has said during a conference call on Monday what he intends to do with Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service HBO once it falls under Paramount Skydance's umbrella, and that will be leaving it as it is.

"We do plan for that to be able to operate with independence, so that HBO can, candidly, do what it does incredibly well. Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO. They built a phenomenal brand. They are a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it," said Ellison

Given Ellison's comments, it would be safe to assume that once the deal goes through, Paramount will shovel all of its content onto HBO and essentially abandon the Paramount+ streaming service. If that is the plan, it's quite a good one, as the Paramount+ streaming service falls incredibly short of HBO Max, not just in what it offers content-wise, but in how it technically runs. HBO Max is by far the superior service in terms of UI layout, fluidity with controls, and brand awareness.