Time is a flat circle. And even flatter because we feel like we’ve used this exact phrase before to discuss the cyclical way, the more things change, the more they stay the same, when it comes to HBO Max. It was three years ago when, much to the chagrin of long-time brand fans, Warner Bros. Discovery dropped the “HBO” from “HBO Max,” added Discovery+ content, and created a “merged streaming platform” called Max. Of course, that worked about as well as expected. And in July of 2025, WBD tried to course correct its mistakes, resurrecting the name “HBO Max.” But not soon enough. Warner Bros. and the HBO brand returned to the market after Warner Bros Discovery’s lack of success. At first, it seemed that Netflix would take Warner Bros. under its wing. But, in the end, Paramount Skydance won out to purchase the company. And now, Paramount has announced it will merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into one streaming platform… Yes, we’ve heard this song before… And… we didn’t like the ending.
Paramount Will Merge Paramount+ and HBO Max Into One Streaming Platform
Once again, HBO Max will merge its content with another streaming platform to form one unified product. But is that what anyone wants? It didn’t work for Discovery+ content when Warner Bros. Discovery created Max, that’s for sure. SOME of Paramount+’s content is more aligned with HBO Max’s offerings than Discovery+’s content, that’s for sure. But then when you look at things like Survivor and other CBS Primetime offerings, Nickelodeon shows, The Smithsonian Channel, and more, things begin to get bogged down with a lack of clear vision again. The thing about HBO Max at its finest is that it has a very specific content point of view, and it’s that HBO brand that gives it power.
Warner Bros. Discovery tried to water that down in order to make Max a place for anyone and any kind of content. And that went badly. Now it feels like Paramount is exactly on the same path as it seeks to combine HBO Max content with Paramount+ content. We feel like Paramount should have taken a lesson from Warner Bros. Discovery’s fumble of HBO Max: Don’t try to to turn HBO Max into something else.
What Paramount Says About the Merging of Paramount+ with HBO Max and Creating One Streaming Service
Paramount CEO David Ellison shared the following with investors about combining Paramount+ and HBO Max into one streaming platform: “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.” He added, “We think that really positions us to compete with the leaders in the space. At Paramount, by the middle of this year, we’ll have completed the consolidation of our three services under one unified stack, and you can see us taking a similar approach to this platform going forward. And we think the combined offering, and given the amount of content and what we can do from the tech side, really will put us in a position to be able to compete with the most scaled players in DTC.”
We guess we’ll see how it goes.
What Will This Combined Paramount+ and HBO Max Streamer Be Called?
What will the name of this merged streaming platform be? Will Paramount seek to go back to just “Max”? Will it be HBO Paramount Max or HBO Max Plus? We don’t know yet. But we really feel like the phrase “HBO Max” should stay in the mix somewhere. Or what are we even doing?
Will HBO Be Forced to Change Under Paramount?
Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter what the streaming platform’s name will be, or whether Paramount+ and HBO Max will combine into one streamer. The most important question is whether HBO Max will be forced to change its content, now that it’s owned by Paramount. For now, Paramount says it’d like HBO to continue to “operate with independence.”
Ellison notes, “Casey [Bloys] and his team do absolutely a remarkable job at HBO. And as we said, we do plan for that to be able to operate with independence, so that HBO can, candidly, do what it does incredibly well. Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO. They built a phenomenal brand. They are a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it. But by bringing the platforms together, all of our content will be able to reach even a broader audience than we can do standalone.”
Going ‘Broad’ with HBO Is a Mistake
We really and truly hope this is the case. HBO has created some incredibly high-quality content, pushing storytelling boundaries and highlighting voices that go against the normative grain. We would hate to see that watered down to serve the broadest audience.
Angling to create a platform that was so broad that anyone could find anything on it did not work for Warner Bros. Discovery with Max. Because when you create a streaming platform that seeks to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. Paramount’s discussion of helping HBO Max’s content find “a broader audience” seems to take a step down that road. But as ever, we consumers are at the mercy of the streaming whims.
Time may be a flat circle when it comes to streaming mistakes, but sadly, price points always seem to go up as content quality seems to decline. We’ll have to wait and see what happens here.
Explore the History of HBO Max
- HBO Max Officially Renamed Max—Streamer Loses Letters, Adds Discovery+ Content
- Long Live HBO! The HBO Brand Returns From Its Max-Imposed Exile
- HBO MAX Is Back: Max Will Change Name Back to HBO MAX After 2 Years
- HBO Max Is BACK, Max Is Officially Dead
- Netflix Is Buying Warner Bros. and HBO Max in $82.7 Billion Deal
- Netflix Bows Out of Warner Bros. Purchase, Paramount to Win