The first stage of the Paramount & Warner Bros. Master plan was revealed yesterday. With Netflix walking away from the deal, Paramount are moving forward with the $111 billion acquisition and the pressure will now be on from shareholders to lay out plans and deliver results.
Speaking with investors on a regular call yesterday, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison confirmed that one major first step will be for HBO Max and Paramount+ merge.
This will bring things like the Yellowstone universe, Star Trek and Landman, alongside content like The Last Of Us and the various Game Of Thrones shows.
It will be a single direct-to-consumer offering, if the deal passes the regulatory challenges ahead.
On the call, Ellison said:
“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.”
He pointed out that Paramount has already rationalised a large amount of platforms, such as BET, Pluto and FAST into Paramount+, something that is continuing in 2026.
He confirmed that HBO Max will be the same, and put them on a scale to compete with Netflix, Amazon and Disney.
HBO itself, as a brand, will be largely left alone to operate independently. HBOs track record in creating quality content seems to buy it a lot of armour. Per Ellison:
“Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO, they are a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it.”
On the call Ellison also re-confirmed commitment to output for cinema release, and maintaining theater release windows.
