Paramount streaming services will merge in roughly one year under a plan outlined on Monday. Chief Executive Officer David Ellison announced the consolidation during an earnings call with analysts.
The newly expanded company released its first quarterly results on Monday and outlined a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting plan. Ellison promised that the merger between Paramount and the much larger Warner company will achieve at least six billion dollars in synergies. Seznam Zprávy reported that savings will come from layoffs, reduced management layers, real estate consolidation, streamlined contractor use, and greater reliance on artificial intelligence tools.
Ellison has already established a leadership structure that unifies many of the scattered Paramount and Warner brands under one team. Changes continue as Skydance announced on Monday that James Gunn and Peter Safran will step down as co-chairmen of DC Studios to return fully to their creative work. Former Marvel executive Jeremy Latcham will replace them next month to head the studio responsible for franchises including Superman and Batman.
A combined HBO Max and Paramount+ platform is central to the strategy. An initial step involves selling both services together at a discounted price, though Skydance did not disclose pricing details on Monday. hrot24.cz said that subscribers will gain the ability to pay for access to both streaming platforms together, though specific savings were not yet quantified.
“Plány společnosti Skydance spojit Paramount+ a HBO Max do balíčku představují dočasné opatření, jehož cílem je, aby si diváci zvykli na obě služby ještě předtím, než se spojí do jediného celku,” said Ross Benes, senior analytik společnosti eMarketer, told the news server.
The upcoming bundle serves as an interim measure to accustom viewers to both apps prior to a full technical merger. TV kompas reported that the initial phase presents both platforms under a single pricing structure without requiring separate accounts.
Paramount+, HBO, and HBO Max together represent approximately 203 million subscriptions, though the company noted the total does not eliminate duplicate users who pay for multiple services, hrot24.cz reported. Technical integration is expected to take about one year, while content integration across all three streaming services will likely take longer.
Questions remain regarding ad-supported tiers, terms for existing subscribers, and login changes.
Skydance plans to offer the combined subscription option for HBO Max and Paramount+ in the first half of 2027.
Specific pricing details and discount amounts were not disclosed when the plan was announced on Monday.