HBO Max and Paramount+ Will Be Bundled in Early 2027, Skydance Confirms
Dragons and starships on one bill. What could possibly go wrong?
Your monthly streaming lineup is about to get a little simpler, at least on paper. In its first earnings report since buying Warner Bros. Discovery, Skydance said it plans to launch a bundle of HBO Max and Paramount+ in early 2027, according to the company's shareholder letter.
That puts House of the Dragon, Harry Potter and DC on HBO Max in the same package as Star Trek and the rest of the Paramount+ library. Skydance said more details are coming, so there's no price or exact launch date yet.
Is HBO Max merging with Paramount+?
Not right away, but that does appear to be the long-term plan. The bundle is described as a first step toward eventually combining both platforms into one streaming service, as Barrett Media reported. Skydance also wants to line up the technology behind the two apps within a year of closing the deal.
Any pricing changes will reportedly be introduced gradually and guided by consumer feedback, which suggests Skydance knows how sensitive subscribers are about rising streaming prices. Skydance hasn't said which countries get the bundle first or how current subscribers will switch over.
How many people subscribe to HBO Max and Paramount+?
According to the letter, Paramount+, HBO and HBO Max add up to about 203 million subscriptions around the world. That number counts some people twice, though, since plenty of fans already pay for both services. Paramount+ alone currently sits at 82.2 million subscribers, and its streaming revenue grew 21% during the quarter.
Starting with the next quarter, Skydance will also stop sharing quarterly subscriber numbers, so this might be the last official count fans get for a while.
What else did Skydance announce?
The combined company is promising at least 30 theatrical releases every year. Upcoming titles mentioned in the letter include Dune: Part Three, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, A Quiet Place Part III and The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Skydance is also targeting at least $6 billion in yearly cost savings within three years. The letter even admits that Warner Bros.' fourth quarter movie slate is expected to underperform. That lines up with this week's report that James Gunn's DCU plans could be mostly scrapped.
My read is that a bundle could be a great deal for fans, but only if the price is right. Paying one bill for dragons and starships sounds amazing, and paying more than two separate subscriptions would sound a lot less amazing. (Somebody please keep the password sharing rules out of this.)
Would you sign up for an HBO Max and Paramount+ bundle? Tell us in the comments.
