HBO Max and Paramount+ are headed toward a shared streaming home, but Discovery+ remains conspicuously absent from the conversation.

Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison told reporters Tuesday that the long-term plan is to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into one app. He cautioned that the integration “will take a period of time,” making a bundle the more immediate option for subscribers.

Ellison discussed the streaming strategy during an event marking the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. He appeared alongside Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kriez for a broad conversation about the combined company, whose major assets include Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., HBO, CBS and CNN.

Yet Discovery was not mentioned during the discussion — whether as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery name, as a group of cable channels or as the Discovery+ streaming service.

The unanswered Discovery+ question

Discovery+ currently carries linear programming from Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, Animal Planet and Magnolia Network, along with some CNN specials. The service costs $5.99 per month with advertising and $9.99 without ads.

Although it is considerably smaller than HBO Max and Paramount+, Discovery+ still has millions of paying customers. Subscription-measurement company Antenna estimated that the service had 4.9 million U.S. subscribers as of August 2026, with approximately half using its ad-supported tier.

By comparison, Antenna estimated that Paramount+ had about 34.5 million paying U.S. subscribers, including 12.8 million on its ad-supported offering. HBO Max had approximately 28.3 million paying U.S. subscribers, 12.9 million of them ad-supported.

The last reported worldwide total for Discovery+ came in March 2022, before Warner Bros. Discovery was created, when the service had 24 million global subscribers.

Discovery+ may be smaller, but its business remains meaningful. Several sources described the service as profitable, potentially generating a sum in the low nine figures. Warner Bros. Discovery did not break out the financial performance of its individual streaming services in quarterly or annual earnings reports.

One person said the platform has practically no expenses beyond cloud storage through Amazon Web Services. Discovery+ no longer carries original programming and instead offers shows from the Discovery cable portfolio the following day, operating as a cord-cutting service while the cable networks carry the programming costs.

The streamer also has a relatively low cancellation rate, helping it provide dependable revenue. HBO Max — during the period when it was branded Max — was once expected to carry almost all of the same programming available through Discovery+, but that content has since been substantially reduced on Warner Bros. Discovery’s primary streaming platform.

A history of survival

Discovery+ has already outlasted one attempt to close it. During a February 2026 earnings call, then-Warner Bros. Discovery chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels acknowledged that HBO Max had been the company’s central priority but argued that Discovery+ still had value.

“But if you remember back when we merged into Warner Bros. Discovery, we were trying to shut down Discovery+,” Wiedenfels said. “And fact of the matter is we still have millions of viewers who are very regularly engaged, who love the content. And there is a tremendous opportunity.”

He added that the company had reopened the subscription purchase process in certain international territories and called Discovery+ a profitable business with more potential ahead. Wiedenfels did not move to Skydance following the merger.

Discovery+ has also had another strategic role overseas. Warner Bros. Discovery held exclusive pan-European pay-TV and streaming rights to the Olympics through 2032, rights that now belong to Skydance. The company can choose which of its streaming services will carry the Games, but those rights had previously helped make Discovery+ an important platform.

What Happens Next?

The merger’s closing announcement offered only a broad indication of the company’s direction. It said consumers could expect improvements to its direct-to-consumer streaming products, which “will unify into a single service over time.” Discovery+ was not specifically named, while the company’s other streaming services were discussed.

Ellison’s newly announced senior leadership structure provided no additional clarity. HBO chief Casey Bloys was selected to lead Skydance’s streaming operations, expanding his HBO Max responsibilities to include oversight of Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Discovery+ again went unmentioned.

For now, there is no confirmed plan to close Discovery+. Its profitability, low operating costs, steady subscriber base and relatively low churn provide reasons for keeping it active. But with the combined company carrying $80 billion in debt and concentrating first on its biggest entertainment brands, the niche service appears to be a lower priority as Skydance begins the longer process of bringing HBO Max and Paramount+ together.