Yes—Paramount has announced plans to combine Paramount+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max streaming portfolios into one platform. The services are not yet one app. As of October 4, 2026, the companies expected their merger to close on October 6, subject to customary closing conditions; Paramount has described the streaming combination as happening “over the coming years,” without announcing a consumer launch date.
What Paramount has announced
Paramount chair and CEO David Ellison said on the company’s March 2, 2026 investor call: “To enhance competition and deliver viewers a truly compelling offering, we will combine the streaming portfolios of the 2 companies into one stronger platform over the coming years.” That is a statement of the company’s plan, not confirmation that the apps have already merged or that a particular launch date is set. Read the investor-call transcript.
When will the services become one app?
There is no announced consumer launch date. “Over the coming years” is the timing Paramount gave for combining the streaming portfolios; it does not specify when subscribers will see one app or when the existing apps might change.
The merger itself was expected to close on October 6, 2026, according to an announcement made before that date. On October 4, the deal had not yet reached its expected closing date and remained subject to customary closing conditions. A September 30 court order resolved the lawsuit brought by 12 states and modified the no-close order to permit the transaction to proceed. See the companies’ closing announcement and the SEC Form 8-K.
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What could be included in the combined service?
Paramount has described the plan as combining the companies’ streaming portfolios, which include series and franchises, sports, and news brands. The merger announcement names properties associated with the combined company such as Harry Potter, Mission: Impossible, The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, DC, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Star Trek, and SpongeBob SquarePants. These are examples of the companies’ broader libraries and franchises—not a confirmed launch catalog. Streaming rights, licensing, theatrical windows, and territory can affect whether and when an individual title is available. See Paramount’s merger announcement.
Will subscribers need a new plan or account?
That has not been announced. The sources available as of October 4 do not specify a final service name, price, plan tiers, account migration process, or whether either existing app will remain available during a transition. They also do not establish whether subscribers will need a new subscription or how existing subscriptions would be handled. Until Paramount publishes consumer terms, the announcement alone cannot answer those questions.
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How large would the combined streaming portfolio be?
Paramount reported more than 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers across the two platforms in more than 100 countries and territories on its March 2, 2026 investor call. This is a company-reported aggregate subscriber figure, not a count of unique people and not a promise that the future app will have that many subscribers. The company’s call transcript is the source for the figure: Paramount M&A call transcript.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What regulatory approval does—and does not—mean
The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division said on June 12, 2026 that it had completed its investigation and concluded the proposed transaction was not likely to harm competition or American consumers, including in subscription video on demand. That was the department’s assessment of the proposed merger; it is not a guarantee about future prices, catalog size, or consumer outcomes. Read the DOJ statement.
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