Skydance has drawn a clear line inside its streaming business: HBO Max is the anchor, and Paramount+ will run as a separate but subordinate lane until the two platforms are ready to merge. Casey Bloys, co-CEO and chief content officer of Skydance Direct-to-Consumer, announced the change as he set the unit’s content leadership team on 23 October. Jane Wiseman, Paramount+ head of originals, is departing and has offered to help with the transition.
An HBO-led content team
Sarah Aubrey, HBO Max’s head of originals, will add Paramount+’s original series output to her remit, alongside international programming. The rest of Bloys’ leadership list is unmistakably HBO-side. Francesca Orsi has been promoted to president of HBO drama series and films; Amy Gravitt keeps comedy; Nina Rosenstein keeps late night and specials; Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller keep documentaries. Glenn Whitehead becomes president and COO of HBO and Paramount+, overseeing business affairs, production, operations and AI initiatives.
Bloys framed the structure around two priorities. “HBO must continue its tradition of television excellence,” he wrote, “but we also need … HBO Max and Paramount+ to carry their respective momentum forward until we are ready to bring them together, and the responsibilities of the teams must be clearly defined.”
The numbers behind the structure
The hierarchy reflects the subscriber gap. HBO Max’s streaming footprint is roughly 140 million subscribers worldwide, compared with about 82 million for Paramount+. That is why HBO remains the marquee name in Skydance’s portfolio and why HBO-side executives anchor the combined content org.
- 140M — HBO Max subscribers worldwide, per the announcement.
- 82M — Paramount+ subscribers worldwide.
- 40+ — new and returning series Wiseman’s team greenlit across scripted, unscripted, kids & family and animation.
For media planners, the practical point is that the two platforms are not being treated as equals in the near term. Reach modelling should keep HBO Max as the premium, higher-scale buy while treating Paramount+ as separate inventory with its own momentum.
Wiseman leaves on a hot streak
Wiseman joined Paramount+ after Skydance’s 2025 acquisition of Paramount, working under then-DTC head Cindy Holland. Her slate included Discretion with Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning, The Best of Us with Jeremy Strong, a Clueless update, Ascent with Viola Davis and Fear Not with Anne Hathaway. She also oversaw the Taylor Sheridan and 101 Studios pipeline and the Dexter franchise.
Her own memo points to records rather than weakness. Landman Season 2 sat on Nielsen’s Top 10 Originals chart for 13 straight weeks. The Madison broke viewing records among women. Dutton Ranch delivered the biggest original series premiere in Paramount+ history. Lioness Season 3 grew every week and finished up 62% over Season 2, while MobLand‘s second season was off to what she called an incredible start.
The exit, then, is not a response to a programming slump. It is a leadership consolidation in which the larger brand captures the key decision rights. The critical date is still unknown: Bloys says the platforms will continue separately until the company is ready to bring them together. For now, producers and buyers should read the org chart, not wait for a logo merge.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
