// 9TO5MAC — MOBILE & WEB
HBO Max and Paramount+ set to merge under ‘Skydance’ brand
Paramount Skydance will complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. next week, and CEO David Ellison just revealed ‘Skydance’ as the new company name ahead of a planned merging of HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming services.
Warner Bros. Discovery is officially set to be merged with Paramount Skydance next Tuesday, October 6.
Following a lengthy approval process and recent settlement, and after beating out Netflix’s initial deal for WBD, the owner of Paramount+ will merge with the owner of HBO Max.
And the new name for this merged company? Skydance.
CEO David Ellison just joined X and made the name announcement in his first post.
What once was the peak, is now just the beginning.Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for… pic.twitter.com/uInLRY3IrE
There’s no indication Skydance will be the name of the streaming service, in fact, Skydance only functions as a holding company similar to Alphabet while the brand facing the public will remain Paramount and Warner Bros separately.
My bet is that it remains HBO Max or gets renamed to HBO+ or something, getting rid of the HBO name would be a mistake (WB already did, remember Max?)
Earlier this year, when asked about plans for HBO Max and Paramount+ if the merger went through, Ellison said the streamers would be combined into a single service. Per CNBC:
Paramount+ and HBO Max will be combined into one streaming service if regulators approve Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount CEO David Ellison said on a conference call Monday. A combined service would have about 200 million subscribers given existing totals, Ellison said during his company’s investor call about the WBD transaction. […]