Paramount Global is in active discussions to merge Paramount+ with an existing streaming platform, according to a Monday report from CNBC.
The entertainment giant has been meeting with other media and tech company executives to discuss the potential of merging Paramount+ with another streamer, per CNBC, wherein the merged platform could potentially be co-owned by Paramount Global and another company. Paramount declined to comment on the report to TheWrap.
Warner Bros. Discovery is among the companies entertaining a streamer merger, according to the report, which would see Paramount+ merge with Max just over a year after the streamer rebranded from HBO Max following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery was in talks to merge with Paramount Global as a whole, though those discussions halted in February.
Looking for a streaming partner is consistent with priorities laid out by Paramount Global’s new Office of the CEO, which Chris McCarthy, who serves as both Paramount co-CEO and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios CEO and president, explained during a June 25 town hall (George Cheeks and Brian Robbins round out the office).
During the meeting, McCarthy noted that Paramount Global was weighing entering “a deep, long-term relationship with a leading technology platform, which already has the full scale that we are trying to obtain” and would create “a very powerful combination to drive more minutes and greater profits.”
Or, on the other hand, the company could join forces with “one or more other SVOD players,” with McCarthy pointing to the “sheer volume of hit content” that could arise from a deal of the sort. This route would enable Paramount Global to “share in all other non-content expenses,” he said.
“Now, the great news is there is tremendous interest in partnering with us across both of these strategic options, given the strength of our content, the volume of our hits and our industry-leading track record,” McCarthy concluded at the town hall.
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