Skydance to bundle HBO Max and Paramount+ in $6bn cost-saving plan

Skydance announced the move when reporting its quarterly earnings for the first time since the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Setting out the streaming plan in its shareholder letter, Skydance said: “Our first step toward bringing together Paramount+ and HBO Max is to offer them in a single bundle. Starting in early 2027, consumers will be able to subscribe to both world-class streaming services at an even greater value.”

Skydance said it would share more details on the bundle and its “streaming roadmap” in the coming months.

The company also promised to find at least $6bn in “synergies” after combining Paramount with Warner. Bros Discovery.

“By combining two global streaming services, two film and TV studio groups, two television portfolios, and overlapping corporate functions, we can reduce duplicative spend across an expense base of more than $50bn,” the company said in its shareholder letter.

It said the savings will come through layoffs, “reducing management layers,” consolidating real estate, streamlining marketing spend, and relying more heavily on AI tools, among other areas.

In particular, Skydance said it would save at least $1.4bn by more efficient technology spend, “by unifying our enterprise tech stack, streaming ecosystem, and broadcast architecture, merging parallel technology functions, leveraging AI coding tools, and integrating platforms and systems.”

Skydance also announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran would step down as Co-Chairmen of DC Studios and “return full time to their creative work.”

Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel executive, will replace them next month as head of the studio, overseeing franchises including Superman and Batman.

Elon Musk reportedly invested around $1bn in Skydance. Discover more here.