Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison projected that once his company acquires Warner Bros. Discovery, the merged entity will boast over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers. This figure, based on current subscriber counts, is likely conservative. At year-end 2025, Paramount+ held 78.9 million subscribers while Warner Bros.

Discovery reported 131.6 million, including linear HBO and Discovery+. The combined total reaches 210.5 million, excluding BET+. Ellison estimates the deal closing in Q3 2024, with the tally growing further. However, Netflix leads with 325 million subscribers, available in far more markets (190 vs. HBO Max's ~90 and Paramount+'s ~half).

The combined service's true size requires de-duplication. Antenna estimates 35.8 million U.S. Paramount+ subscribers and 27.1 million HBO Max users, with 7.6 million paying for both. This means 27.9% of HBO Max subscribers already have Paramount+, and 21.1% of Paramount+ users have HBO Max. Combined, nearly 14% of the total HBO Max/Paramount+ pool subscribes to both services.

This overlap, while imperfect, hints at shared international reach potential. Crucially, de-duplicating subscribers won't create a simple revenue add; the combined service's pricing strategy remains unclear, though rising ARPU is expected to boost revenue.