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Title: HBO Max and Paramount+ To Merge Into One Streaming Service

Link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/0...

Paramount Skydance plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single
streaming platform following its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. "As
we said, we do plan to put the two services together, which today gives us a
little over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers," said David Ellison,
the company's CEO. "We think that really positions us to compete with the
leaders in the space." The deal still needs regulatory approval. The
Washington Post reports: He added that Paramount didn't want to make changes
to the HBO brand. "Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO," Ellison said,
noting that his favorite HBO product is "Game of Thrones." If Justice
Department regulators allow the deal to go through, it would place recent HBO
Max hits, such as "The Pitt" and "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," alongside
Paramount offerings including "South Park" and "Yellowstone." "They built a
phenomenal brand," he said. "They are a leader in the space, and we just want
them to continue doing more of it." The deal to buy Warner Bros., valued at
about $110 billion, will almost surely attract regulatory scrutiny from the
Justice Department because -- without divestments -- it places major swaths
of the film, television and news industries under one roof: Warner Bros. and
Paramount studios, HBO Max and Paramount+, and CBS and CNN would all have the
same parent company. Ellison expressed confidence on the call that the deal
wouldn't face hurdles with regulators.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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