Paramount to Combine HBO Max and Paramount+ to Challenge Netflix

Paramount Skydance Corp. said Monday that it will combine the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services into a single platform, following the company’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

The company expects the transaction, which was formally signed on Feb. 27, to close in the third quarter. The deal came after months of effort on the part of Paramount Chief Executive Officer David Ellison to acquire the famed Hollywood studio and related assets such as HBO, CNN and TNT. Paramount won a bidding war with Netflix Inc., agreeing to pay $31 a share in cash for the company.