Acquisitions and mergers have become the norm in the entertainment industry over the past several years. After Skydance Media acquired Paramount earlier this year, a battle to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns HBO and HBO Max, began in late 2025. Now that Netflix has bowed out of the competition, does this mean HBO Max subscribers should expect an increase in prices soon?
Below, Hollywood Life unpacks how the Warner Bros. merger with Paramount could impact HBO Max subscribers.
Did Netflix Buy Warner Bros?
Netflix announced its deal with Warner Bros. to acquire the latter in a December 5, 2025, news release. Netflix’s Co-CEO, Greg Peters, said the Warner Bros. purchase “will improve [Netflix’s] offering and accelerate our business for decades to come.”
“Warner Bros. has helped define entertainment for more than a century and continues to do so with phenomenal creative executives and production capabilities,” Peters added. “With our global reach and proven business model, we can introduce a broader audience to the worlds they create—giving our members more options, attracting more fans to our best-in-class streaming service, strengthening the entire entertainment industry and creating more value for shareholders.”
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted, “Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
However, Paramount Skydance eventually beat out Netflix after Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison commenced a hostile takeover.
Did Paramount Buy Warner Bros?
Yes, according to Paramount Skydance, the company beat Netflix in February 2026 to acquire Warner Bros. On February 27, 2026, the company released a news release announcing that it “entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Paramount will acquire WBD, forming a premier global media and entertainment company focused on expanding consumer choice and empowering creative talent worldwide.”
Who Owns HBO & HBO Max?
Warner Bros. Discovery currently owns HBO and HBO Max.
Will My HBO Subscription Go Up in Price Now?
As of now, HBO Max is still the same price, starting at $10.99 per month with ads.
Is HBO Max Going Away?
Netflix was not planning to remove HBO or HBO Max. Instead, the streaming giant said in its news release, “By adding the deep film and TV libraries and HBO and HBO Max programming, Netflix members will have even more high-quality titles from which to choose.”
However, now that Paramount is taking over, the company said it plans to combine Paramount+ with Pluto and HBO.