HBO Max and Paramount+ are ending as standalone streaming services – here’s what comes next

For better or worse, the estimated $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance merger is official and today we learned it’s going to mean the consolidation of both companies’ streaming services.

In an announcement confirming the completion of Paramount’s acquisition of the Warner empire and the formation of the new “global entertainment leader” henceforth known as Skydance, we also got word that two will become one when it comes to streaming the content..

“Over time”, the Skydance press release reads, Paramount+ and HBO Max will be merged into a single streaming platform. The eventual, as-yet-unnamed service will bring together content from some of the most recognisable names in entertainment.

From the Warner Bros side there’s Warner Bros. pictures, HBO, the DC Universe, CNN news, and Turner broadcasting networks like TNT and TBS and Turner Classic Movies. There’s also top animation from Adult Swim and Studio Ghibli.

From Paramount, you have CBS and, notably, CBS News, Showtime, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon as well as the iconic Paramount movie studio and its subsidiaries.

It’s not clear yet when the new service will launch or how much it’ll cost subscribers when it does. Right now, to subscribe to the top tier of both platforms you’ll pay $230 annually for HBO Max Premium and $140 for Paramount+ Premium with Showtime.

“At the same time, 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,” the press release says today.

Again, this $110 billion merger is the result of a merger of a merger of a merger and we’re now in an era of unprecedented consolidation of media ownership. It has serious ramifications, especially in the news sphere. Both CNN and CBS News – both titans of American journalism – are now in the hands of the Ellison Family, closely associated with the Trump administration in the United States. It’s worth looking into Bari Weiss, the new editor in chief of CBS News if you’re concerned about the fate of CNN. Bad times, man.