Paramount+, HBO Max bundle is coming ahead of Skydance streamer combo

The Paramount+ and HBO Max marriage is around the corner. Skydance will bundle the streamers in early 2027, the company said Monday as it shared its third-quarter earnings — its first report since Paramount bought Warner Bros. Discovery in early October.

It's unclear how much the HBO Max-Paramount+ bundle will cost. Skydance said it would share more details on the bundle and "its streaming roadmap" in the coming months. HBO Max costs $10.99 a month with ads, or $18.49 for the standard ad-free plan, while Paramount+ is $8.99 a month with ads and $13.99 for the ad-free version.

Without a discount, it costs about $20 a month to get HBO Max and Paramount+ with ads separately, and $32.48 to get them without ads. David Ellison's media giant is also planning to combine the Paramount+ and HBO Max tech platforms in the next 11 months so it can create a "unified product." Paramount merged the backend of its namesake streamer with its free service, Pluto TV, over about 18 months in a process known internally as convergence. Skydance said it will lean on AI tools to move faster this time around.

"We expect to bring Paramount+ and HBO Max together much faster, aiming to align our backend systems within a year of closing, enabling us to quickly deliver a unified product," Skydance said in its third-quarter shareholder letter. Skydance largely met Wall Street's expectations in its third-quarter report. The new media company met its revenue projections and exceeded adjusted earnings estimates.

Revenue climbed 5% year-over-year to $7 billion, within the $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion range that Paramount had told investors to expect. Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of profitability excluding certain items, was $1 billion, above the company's $875 million to $975 million range. Shares were volatile in early after-hours trading, following a surge of over 8.5% on Monday. Skydance's stock entered earnings down more than 11% since the October 6 merger.