HBO Max is still 3 weeks away from its UK launch, but Paramount Global will combine Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming platform if regulators approve its Skydance-backed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking on an investor call on Monday, Paramount CEO David Ellison said the merged service would have around 200 million subscribers based on the companies’ current totals.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery last week agreed a deal that values WBD at $31 per share, following the withdrawal of Netflix from what had been a prolonged bidding process.
No details were provided on branding or pricing for the proposed combined platform. However, Ellison indicated that the HBO name would be protected.
“HBO should stay HBO,” he said, citing the network’s long-standing reputation for premium programming.
HBO is expected to operate as a sub-brand within the larger service, according to a person familiar with the plans. HBO is currently overseen by Casey Bloys, whose contract runs until 2027. Bloys declined to comment.
Paramount executives also highlighted the strength of a combined sports proposition, bringing together TNT Sports with CBS Sports under one streaming roof. In the UK market this means Champions League could end up staying on TNT Sports after Paramount swooped on a four-year deal for the rights from the 2027-28 season. Any such changes will need the approval of organising body UEFA.
HBO’s direct-to-consumer strategy has undergone several iterations over the past decade.
Under Time Warner, HBO launched HBO Go in 2010 as an authenticated streaming service for pay-TV subscribers. In 2014, the company introduced HBO Now, marking its first standalone streaming offer outside the traditional cable bundle.
Following AT&T’s 2018 acquisition of Time Warner – subsequently renamed WarnerMedia – the company launched HBO Max in 2020 to broaden the service with additional content and drive subscriber growth.
In 2022, after AT&T spun off WarnerMedia and merged it with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David Zaslav rebranded the service as Max to reflect the addition of Discovery programming.
The decision was reversed in 2024, when Zaslav and Bloys reinstated the HBO Max name, emphasising the strength and global recognition of the HBO brand.
