Is ‘Paramount+ Max’ Coming Soon? Paramount Discussing Merging Streaming Services With Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount explored a more wholistic corporate merger with WBD in late 2023, but discussions came to nothing in the end.
Paramount Global’s financial situation is as perilous as any major company in Hollywood right now. That reality has prompted it to explore all types of options to keep its multi-pronged media empire viable as the entertainment landscape continues its volatile shifts. The company has been involved in multiple merger and acquisition discussions throughout 2024, and the sudden ouster of former CEO Bob Bakish has left CBS chief executive George Cheeks, Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy, and Paramount Pictures chairman Brian Robbins running the company jointly in the “Office of the CEO” position. The three have made it clear that they are seeking joint venture opportunities for their streaming service Paramount+ as a way to increase the platform’s value, and it looks like they may be closing in on an ally. A new report from CNBC indicates that Paramount has held talks with Warner Bros. Discovery about merging Paramount+ with Max and that other potential opportunities for combining the streamer with another platform could also exist.
Key Details:
- The report says Paramount is in “active discussions” regarding opportunities for Paramount+.
- Combining with Max would allow Paramount and WBD to compete better with Disney’s streamers.
- Some executives foresee a future where Disney services combine with Max, Paramount+, and Peacock to combat Netflix’s market dominance.
It sounds as if the trio of executives in charge of Paramount’s operations are serious about a joint streaming venture with an erstwhile rival, as CNBC reports that the company is in “active discussions” with other media entities regarding such a combination. However, what is being discussed is not a simple sharing of content; instead, Paramount envisions a new, unified streaming product combining its library with that of another platform. This type of setup would likely create a split ownership structure, though which company would own the greatest percentage, or if it would be a 50/50 enterprise, is still to be determined.
“Let me be clear, we’re not talking about marketing bundles. This is a deep and expansive relationship,” Robbins said at Paramount’s annual shareholders meeting last month.
A deal with WBD would make sense for both sides, combining the prestige TV catalog of Max with the expansive lineup of library content on Paramount+. Franchises like “Game of Thrones” would join with “NCIS” and “Star Trek” on a single service, and the live sports implications could be even greater. If Paramount+ were to bring its sports rights to a merger with Max, the new service would be able to offer NFL games on Sunday afternoons, and would also hold the rights to every game of the NCAA Men’s March Madness tournament, in addition to college football and basketball, the NHL, MLB, and much more.
A combined Max and Paramount+ would also be able to stand up to some of the larger services in the industry in terms of subscribers. Paramount+ had 71.2 million subscribers at last report, while WBD had 99.6 million streaming customers, most of them on Max. Of course, there is likely a substantial overlap between the two, but even counting for redundancies, the move would bring a substantial increase in viewers, which has a multitude of benefits, not the least of which is on the financial end. A merger would help Paramount narrow its streaming losses more quickly than its current pace; the company lost $1.67 billion from its direct-to-consumer segment in 2023, while WBD made a $103 million profit. With additional subscriber fees and more people watching the expanded libraries on ad-supported plans, such a move should add to the bottom lines of both companies.
“The sheer volume of hit content that we could offer together would be tremendous across TV, film, and sports, and would attract millions of viewers,” McCarthy said during a company town hall this week in reference to a potential merger with another streamer. “Plus, we would share in all other non-content expenses.”
WBD held preliminary talks with Paramount regarding a merger of the two companies in December 2023, but the discussions came to nothing in the end. As far back as November, I posited that a combination of Max and Paramount+ made a great deal of sense for all involved, and now it appears a deal could come to fruition.
Who Else Could Merge with Paramount+?
WBD isn’t the only company discussing a Paramount+ merger. At this week’s town hall meeting, McCarthy also indicated that Paramount Global is also thinking about partnerships for Paramount+ with technology companies, though the report did not specify which platforms he was thinking about specifically.
“What they don’t have is our scale of content, and together we will make for a very powerful combination to drive more minutes and greater profits,” McCarthy said of these tech companies.
There’s also a possible team-up with Peacock floating in the corporate ether. The idea of such a partnership was first reported in February, though as CNBC reports, those discussions “didn’t progress and never got particularly far.” Word circulated in April that former Paramount CEO Bob Bakish gave terms in those discussions that the company’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone found unfavorable, and talks fizzled quickly.
It’s possible that a merger of Paramount+ with another streamer could kick off a wave of streaming combinations, as various platforms won’t want to be the last service out there without a dance partner. Several executives told CNBC they foresaw a future where Disney+ and Hulu combined with Paramount+, Peacock, and Max to try and compete directly with the monolith that is Netflix.
Redstone is still on the lookout for M&A opportunities that embrace all of Paramount, and if any of those become serious offers to buy the whole company, merger talks surrounding Paramount+ could be put on the back burner.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.