HBO Max and Paramount+ to become single streaming service
October 7, 2026 12.41 Europe/London By Julian Clover


Skydance has confirmed plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single streaming service following the completion of its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The newly enlarged company said its direct-to-consumer streaming products would “unify into a single service over time”, providing the clearest indication yet of its plans for the two global streaming platforms.

No timetable, name or pricing structure has been announced for the combined service, and HBO Max and Paramount+ will continue to operate separately for the immediate future. Such a move could create issues for the European Sky Showtime, which has already launched a review into its future.

The announcement came as Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, creating the new Skydance Corporation under chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.

Skydance says its streaming platforms have more than 200 million subscribers in aggregate, giving the combined operation considerably greater scale as it competes with Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

The new service would bring HBO programming including The White Lotus, The Last of Us and House of the Dragon together with Paramount franchises including Star Trek, Yellowstone and Tulsa King, alongside Warner Bros., Discovery and Paramount’s extensive film and television libraries.

“Consumers can expect greater innovation from a company built with technology at its core, including significant improvements to its direct-to-consumer streaming products, which will unify into a single service over time,” Skydance said.

The move represents another major consolidation of streaming platforms. Warner Bros. Discovery had already progressively combined HBO Max and Discovery programming following the 2022 WarnerMedia-Discovery merger, while Paramount has integrated Showtime more closely into Paramount+.

Skydance’s portfolio now spans Paramount, Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max, Paramount+, Pluto TV, CBS, CNN, TNT Sports, CBS Sports, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV, Food Network, BET, HGTV and Comedy Central.

The company says the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction received competition clearance across nearly 70 jurisdictions. WBD shares ceased trading on Nasdaq on Tuesday, while Skydance Class B shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD.