The future of Paramount+ and HBO Max is coming into sharper focus as Paramount prepares to combine with Warner Bros. Discovery and adopt the Skydance name.
New branding unveiled by Paramount CEO David Ellison points toward keeping both streaming services as separate consumer-facing brands, potentially offered together in a bundle rather than folded into a single platform. Paramount has not yet officially confirmed how the two services will be combined operationally.
The latest signal appeared in a video announcing that the combined company will be called Skydance. Its closing image placed the new corporate name alongside logos representing the merged company’s key brands: Paramount, Warner Bros., DC, CBS, CNN, Nickelodeon, HBO Max and Paramount+.
The inclusion of both streaming logos was notable. Paramount already appeared separately in the presentation, yet Paramount+ was also given its own place. The presentation likewise featured HBO Max rather than only the legacy HBO name.
Together, those choices suggest that the company sees value in maintaining HBO Max and Paramount+ as recognizable streaming brands after the transaction closes.
A Bundle Is Emerging as a Possible Model
Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, has also indicated that a bundle could make sense. He is expected to oversee the combined streaming operation, although Paramount has not formally detailed the structure of that business.
Asked a day before Ellison’s video whether HBO Max and Paramount+ could be bundled instead of fully integrated, Bloys stopped short of confirming a plan. He did, however, point to an existing model he considers successful.
“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.”
His comments leave the final arrangement unconfirmed, but they add weight to the possibility that subscribers could be offered the two services together while each platform retains its own identity. The services are considered complementary in their offerings, providing another potential argument for packaging them together rather than eliminating one brand in favor of the other.
The dual-brand approach would also be consistent with the way the services were presented in Ellison’s announcement. Both were placed among the combined company’s most prominent properties rather than being represented by one consolidated streaming name.
What Happens Next?
Paramount is set to become Skydance on Oct. 6, when its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closes. Until the company formally outlines its streaming structure, the precise relationship between HBO Max and Paramount+ remains unresolved.
The unanswered questions include how any potential bundle would work and whether the services would continue operating independently beyond their branding. For now, however, the decision to spotlight both logos—combined with Bloys’ public openness to a bundled offering—provides the clearest indication yet that HBO Max and Paramount+ may both remain part of Skydance’s post-merger streaming lineup.