Say Goodbye to a Major Streaming Service With Paramount Plus Phaseout

Published Oct 6, 2026, 1:12 PM EDT

Michael McWhertor is a New York-based journalist and editor with more than 20 years of experience covering games, industry events, technology, movies, and TV.

As part of the $110 billion deal, parent company Skydance — the new home of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery — plans to unify HBO Max and Paramount Plus into a single service over time. That means properties like Game of Thrones, Yellowstone (and the larger Sheridan-verse), the DC Universe, Star Trek, and Harry Potter will all exist under one streaming roof. Combined, the two services currently boast more than 200 million subscribers.

HBO Max and Paramount Plus become one streaming service

Image: ViacomCBS

Paramount CEO David Ellison originally announced the plan to merge HBO Max and Paramount Plus back in March, before the merger under Skydance had been completed.

“We do plan to put the two services together, which today gives us a little over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers,” Ellison said during an investor call in March. “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. 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.”

In a news release announcing the completion of the Paramount-WBD merger, Skydance promised that 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 hasn't announced exactly how HBO Max and Paramount Plus will be unified, or what the name of the new streaming service will be. In a news release, the parent company simply refers to the streaming side of its business as "Skydance DTC." There's a good chance that Skydance or Skydance Plus will serve as the new name, with hubs dedicated to HBO Max, Paramount Plus, Discovery, and other brands.

What the new Skydance streaming service means for HBO

HBO Max logoWarner Bros. Discovery

For now, it appears that HBO's creative teams and executives will be allowed to operate independently. On Monday, Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz announced the leadership team of the combined company, confirming that HBO CEO Casey Bloys will serve as co-chair and chief creative officer of Skydance DTC. Bloys will oversee original programming and strategy for both HBO Max and Paramount Plus.

Back in March, Ellison said that Bloys "and his team do absolutely a remarkable job at HBO" and that his plan was for HBO "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," Ellison added. "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 stand-alone."

If anything, it sounds like Skydance will increase output at HBO and Paramount. In a news release, the company promised "enhanced output commitments," including a minimum of 30 high-quality theatrical films per year and more than 180 television shows and series.