As with any merger, there are changes that will come. With Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount merging, it means that there are likely changes to the streaming platforms. HBO Max and Paramount+ are likely to become one.
While the two companies have been quiet about the details, recent statements suggest that HBO Max could completely disappear. Paramount+ will be the one to keep.
Cutting Down the Streaming Platforms Isn’t a Bad Thing
I know that there are some who will be worried about losing a streaming platform. What happens to the HBO Max content when that platform disappears? As a Canadian, my questions are all about the deal between Warner Bros. Discovery and Bell Media, which puts all HBO and HBO Max content on Crave.
However, deep down, it doesn’t anger me that two streaming platforms could become one. There are too many platforms as it is!
Every day, there are questions about which platform we’re going to for a particular movie or TV show. It costs more than cable to have all the individual platforms, and the whole point of streaming was to make the cost of watching TV cheaper!
With one platform, it could help to get more streamers. People get two lots of content for the same price! What’s the problem in that?
Okay, so the platforms are likely to go up in price, but I wouldn’t say the prices would double. In fact, having the extra content and getting more subscribers would be an argument to keep the costs down.
Out of the two, I would have preferred HBO Max over Paramount+, but a lot of that is because of the deal with Crave. That being said, Paramount+ is available up here. And maybe, it’ll mean getting rid of Crave because I only have that for HBO Max content really!
Missing HBO Max Shows Could Return
There are many shows from HBO Max that no longer stream. Look at The Time Traveler’s Wife, Westworld, and The Nevers. All of these shows were deemed a waste for HBO Max to keep on the platform, despite it not costing anything extra to keep on there. It was disappointing, especially when there was no where else to strream the shows.
With the change to Paramount+, it could put the shows back on the platform. After all, Paramount+ will likely want to boost its content, and what better way in marketing all the missing shows? Of course, shows like Game of Thrones and The Pitt will be big marketing draws, but so will those shows that we haven’t had the chance to watch in years.
Paramount didn’t go through a process of culling content, unlike HBO Max and Disney+. It clearly supports all of its content, even that from lesser-known channels within the company, so there is a chance of a new life for a few shows.
Are mergers good? Not always, but merging two streaming platforms into one could be for consumers.
