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The streaming platforms are in the middle of a war that has just entered their most significant chapter yet. In a move that feels like the ultimate Hollywood crossover, David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, has officially confirmed plans to unite HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single streaming platform.
The potential move represents a $110 billion bet that a combined platform can finally sit at the table of Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube. However, subscribers will have to wait to see their apps union.
When is the union happening?
Just the announcement itself has sent shockwaves through the industry as it has caught everybody off guard. According to sources, the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) by Paramount is expected to close between September and December 2026, but there are still pending regulatory and shareholder approvals to consider.
Ellison also noted that Paramount is already combining its own services onto a single unified stack by mid-2026 in order to have a look at how everything would work and be seen. Some experts from Tom's Guide and Antenna suggest that the actual integration of HBO Max and Paramount+ will likely occur during late 2026 or early 2027.
According to Ellison, the combination would gather over 210.5 million global subscribers, competing with Disney and Netflix. Nevertheless, data from Antenna reveals that roughly 7.6 million U.S. subscribers currently pay for both services, so that suggested figure by Ellison is not totally accurate.
What is going to happen with the content?
On this regard, Ellison has been clear. He claims that "HBO should stay HBO", as he expects it to maintain its creative independence. For the Game of Thrones and Succession fans, this will not affect the series. They will just co-exist with other shows.
So, for the immediate future, nothing changes. HBO Max and Paramount+ subscriptions will continue to function as separate apps throughout most of 2026. There is no official word on future pricing yet, but given the scale of the $110 billion debt involved, many experts anticipate a new increase once the apps finally fusion.