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Paramount Skydance to Merge HBO Max and Paramount+ After Warner Bros. Discovery Deal

Regulatory review is underway after Paramount outlined a single service of about 200 million subscribers that preserves HBO’s autonomy.

Overview

  • CEO David Ellison said the two apps will become one platform after the acquisition closes, with a de‑duplicated footprint of roughly 200 million subscribers and details on pricing and naming still to come.
  • Paramount pledged that HBO will operate with creative independence even as libraries and tech are consolidated into a unified streaming stack over the coming years.
  • The company committed to a robust theatrical strategy, targeting about 30 films annually across the two studios with a standard 45‑day window before premium VOD.
  • Executives outlined roughly $6 billion in cost savings largely from non‑labor areas such as tech, real estate and marketing, while the combined entity is expected to carry about $79 billion in net debt.
  • The $110–111 billion, $31‑per‑share transaction faces scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice, California’s attorney general and international regulators, and leaders highlighted a combined CBS Sports–TNT Sports offering without having heard specific antitrust concerns on sports rights.