David Ellison has reaffirmed plans to eventually unite HBO Max and Paramount+ as a single streaming service, while keeping the platforms separate during the initial phase of the newly combined company’s operations.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the Skydance chairman and CEO said his “long term” objective is to “bring [HBO Max] and [Paramount+] together.” Tuesday marked the first day of operations for the new Skydance, the name now being used for the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Ellison cautioned that a full integration will not happen immediately because the services’ technology systems must first be merged.

“It’ll take a period of time to do that,” he said. “So I think in the immediate you will see them operated separately.”

Before that consolidation is completed, customers could be offered a package containing both services. Ellison said “bundling” should become available “in the relatively short term,” although he was not ready to provide specific details about the available options.

He also suggested technological advances could shorten the work required to create a unified service.

“Given the way AI technology and other things have progressed, we think we can actually accelerate how quickly we accomplish that goal,” Ellison said.

Ellison and Casey Bloys outlined different visions

Ellison’s comments go further than the scenario Casey Bloys described just last week. Bloys, who will oversee all streaming for the combined business, said he believed HBO Max and Paramount+ would remain individual services while potentially being sold together as a package.

At Bloomberg’s Screentime event, Bloys pointed to an existing model involving HBO Max and Disney.

“I would say that I don’t want to comment on what is going to happen or anything like that, but I would point to the HBO Max-Disney bundle, which has been very successful,” Bloys said.

“So could you see something like that happening? That would make a lot of sense,” he added.

The two executives’ remarks align on the prospect of a bundle but differ over the ultimate destination. Bloys envisioned services that could remain separate, while Ellison has now reiterated that the longer-term strategy is to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into one service.

A plan Ellison previously presented to investors

Tuesday’s declaration was not the first time Ellison had promoted a unified streaming platform. In March, he told investors that the two services would be put together, framing their combined subscriber base as a way to challenge the industry’s biggest competitors.

“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 that investor call. “We think that really positions us to compete with the leaders in the space.”

At Tuesday’s press conference, Ellison repeated the figure of more than 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers. He said the substantial increase in scale would allow Skydance to “compete with the Disneys and Netflixes and Amazons and anybody in the world.”

While the streaming services are intended to come together, Ellison has also pledged that HBO will retain its creative and operational identity. During the March call, he said the HBO brand would continue to “operate with independence” under Bloys and his team.

“Casey [Bloys] and his team do absolutely a remarkable job at HBO,” Ellison said. “We do plan for that to be able to operate with independence, so that HBO can, candidly, do what it does incredibly well.”

He added: “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.”

What Happens Next?

For the immediate future, HBO Max and Paramount+ will continue operating separately as Skydance works through the technological requirements of combining them. A bundle is expected sooner than a fully unified platform, but Ellison has not yet disclosed its structure or options.

The eventual plan, however, is now clear from Ellison’s latest remarks: package the services in the short term, merge their technology over time and ultimately bring HBO Max and Paramount+ together under one streaming service while allowing HBO to maintain its independence.