But HBO will continue to 'operate with independence,' David Ellison said on a Monday investor call.
will combine into one direct-to-consumer streaming service if and when Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is complete. “As we said, we do plan to put the two services together, which today gives us a little over 200 million direct to consumer subscribers,” Paramount CEO David Ellison saidoutlining his broader business plan.
“We think that really positions us to compete with the leaders in the space. At Paramount, by the middle of this year, we’ll have completed the consolidation of our three services under one unified stack, and you can see us taking a similar approach to this platform going forward. And we think the combined offering, and given the amount of content and what we can do from the tech side, really will put us in a position to be able to compete with the most scaled players in DTC.”'Dreaming Whilst Black' Star Adjani Salmon on Why Breaking into the Industry Is Just the Beginning“Casey and his team do absolutely a remarkable job at HBO,” Ellison continued. “And as we said, we do plan for that to be able to operate with independence, so that HBO can, candidly, do what it does incredibly well. Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO. They built a phenomenal brand. They are a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it. But by bringing the platforms together, all of our content will be able to reach even a broader audience than we can do standalone.”It was not a foregone conclusion that HBO Max and Paramount+ would merge into one, even after it became a foregone conclusion that Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery would. There are pros and cons to the planned consolidation and to a path with continued separation, as I outlinedif he was nervous about a future with HBO potentially under Ellison and Paramount. At the time, Netflix wasn’t even in the game. “I had a town hall a couple weeks ago, and I said, ‘The only thing you can do in this process, and the best thing you can do, is just focus on your job, which is making the most impactful programming in whatever genre,’” Bloys replied. “It’s kind of a waste of energy, because I don’t know what’s going to happen.” “Now, that being said, I’m obviously very proud of what we’ve done at HBO and HBO Max. I would like to see that continue,” he continued. “We’ve all worked at HBO for a long time. I’m proud of our track record, but you have to go into these processes with an open mind. And a lot of it is out of our hands.” Also on the Monday morning conference call, Ellison committed to 45-day theatrical windows ahead of a PVOD run, itself before SVOD/AVOD. Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. Discovery will be formed under a $79 billion mountain of net debt.John Oliver Reacts to HBO’s Possible New “Business Daddy” Paramount: “How the F*** Do I Get Out of This?”Most Memorable Moments at 2026 Actor Awards: From ‘Sinners’ Star Delroy Lindo’s Emotional Speech to Amy Madigan’s Trophy Genitalia JokeActor Awards Snubs and Surprises: Timothée Chalamet Loses Second Lead Actor Prize in a Row; Keri Russell Nabs Unexpected WinThe Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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