{"id":7983968,"date":"2026-03-20T09:53:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/?p=7983968"},"modified":"2026-03-20T09:53:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:53:47","slug":"hbo-max-paramount-plus-combo-overlap-audience-streaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/commentary-analysis\/data-analysis\/hbo-max-paramount-plus-combo-overlap-audience-streaming\/","title":{"rendered":"What Audience Behavior Tells Us About a HBO Max-Paramount+ Combo | Charts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

With the industry looking ahead to the ways that a Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger<\/a> will play out, we took a look at how compatible their flagship streaming services are.\u00a0 The data suggests that a future combination of HBO Max and Paramount+ would be inherently synergistic.\u00a0From both a demographic and viewing behavior perspective, the two platforms already look more similar than others.\u00a0Ultimately this is a positive indicator for any future efforts to consolidate these streamers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first signal of compatibility is the “who.” Parrot Analytics\u2019 audience demographic<\/a> data shows that HBO Max and Paramount+ occupy similar real estate in the streaming landscape when it comes to the demographics of audiences for their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both platforms have an audience that skews slightly male and is older than the audience of most other platforms.\u00a0While Peacock occupies a similar age bracket, its heavy female skew sets it apart, leaving Max and Paramount+ as the most congruent pair in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being different is often the goal for a consolidation like this (think of it as “buying” the users you don’t have). However, being the same offers a big defensive advantage. A combined catalog doesn’t seek to expand the tent so much as it reinforces the center. It eliminates the fragmentation of the 35-to-55-year-old adult demographic, turning two separate apps into a single destination for the viewer whose tastes bridge the gap between HBO\u2019s prestige dramas and Paramount\u2019s procedural powerhouses.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"the-pitt-landman\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tRead Next<\/strong>
\n\t\t\tHow Much Should the Combo HBO Max-Paramount+ Streaming Service Cost? | Chart<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The most compelling argument for this merger, however, isn’t just who the audience is, but how they move between platforms.\u00a0To measure the friction between platforms it helps to start with a platform\u2019s “Internal Affinity” (eg. what share of Disney+ users watch another Disney+ title next?) and compare it against its “Cross-Platform Affinity” (eg. how often a Hulu user jumps to Disney+).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The results paint a clear picture. Despite being offered as a bundle for years, Disney+ and Hulu remain silos. A Hulu viewer is less than half as likely to go and watch a title available on Disney+ compared to a person who already watched something on Disney+. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some ways, this isn\u2019t necessarily surprising in the case of Disney+.\u00a0It is a smaller platform with a more focused content offering specifically catering to franchise fandoms likely to stay within the ecosystem.\u00a0After years of trying to justify Disney+ and Hulu as separate platforms with distinct purposes in the U.S. it should not be surprising that audiences have developed siloed viewing behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrast the Disney+\/Hulu example with the frictionless bridge between HBO Max and Paramount+. An HBO Max viewer is 86.7% as likely to watch a Paramount+ title as a core Paramount+ viewer is. The behavioral friction here is remarkably low. We aren’t looking at two distinct silos that require a heavy lift to unite. Instead, we see a highly compatible audience that is already habituated to both catalogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the streaming strategy of a combined WBD and Paramount, this data offers a “good news\/bad news” scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bad news is that a merger won’t “expand the tent” in the way a merger with a platform like Netflix might have. There are few new frontiers to conquer here. The good news, however, is that the data points to a more seamless integration between HBO Max and Paramount+.\u00a0Marketing spend becomes exponentially more efficient when you aren’t trying to speak two different languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As profitability replaces growth as streaming\u2019s primary metric, the HBO Max-Paramount+ union represents a synergy play. It is a logical consolidation of two deeply overlapping audiences into a unified front that stops competing for the same viewers and starts owning them.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Sophie\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tRead Next<\/strong>
\n\t\t\tParamount Will Combine HBO Max and Paramount+, Won't Sell or Spin Off Cable Assets<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parrot Analytics data points to a big overlap in audience between the two streamers, which may not expand the subscriber base the way a Netflix-HBO Max combo would have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10066,"featured_media":7977868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":505568,"post_id":7361269}}]},"_links_to":"","_links_to_type":0,"nb_breaking_email_type":"20ea2010-a7ac-4136-bfc8-12173d880a45","nb_breaking_template":"pro-single-story.html","nb_breaking_from_name":"WrapPRO","nb_breaking_subject":"","nb_breaking_preview":"","nb_breaking_list":[],"nb_breaking_header_img":7562034,"nb_breaking_should_send":false,"nb_breaking_content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"WrapPRO<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Discover why entertainment executives and professionals rely on the WrapPRO platform daily for exclusive coverage, analysis, deeper reporting, and access to VIP events & screenings throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","nb_newsletter_sent_breaking_post_id":[7984002],"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-03-20T16:53:14Z","apple_news_api_id":"ea041780-cce6-4aed-bbbc-7c11c9b41644","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-03-20T16:53:21Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A6gQXgMzmSu27vHwRybQWRA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"hide_featured_image":false,"the_wrap_post_enable_full_width_featured_image":false,"the_wrap_post_enable_featured_video":false,"the_wrap_post_featured_video":"","the_wrap_post_disable_read_more":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[514397,411758,514398],"tags":[447608,493277,495669,433226],"tw_data_partners":[],"columns":[],"byline":[505568],"class_list":["post-7983968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-analysis","category-streaming","category-tv-shows","tag-hbo-max","tag-paramount-2","tag-parrot-analytics","tag-wrappro"],"newsletter_builder_byline":"Christofer Hamilton","is_pro_article":true,"apple_news_notices":[],"eyebrow":{"link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/commentary-analysis\/data-analysis\/","text":"Data Analysis"},"tw_schema_org_review":{"name":"","type":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10066"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7983968"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7983998,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7983968\/revisions\/7983998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7977868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7983968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7983968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7983968"},{"taxonomy":"tw_data_partners","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tw_data_partners?post=7983968"},{"taxonomy":"tw_column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/columns?post=7983968"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=7983968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}