Paramount+ is preparing a free tier, micro dramas, interactive advertising formats, comments for its TikTok-style feed and AI-assisted video clipping as Paramount Skydance finalizes its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The transaction will give Paramount control of HBO Max and Discovery+, although the companies have not determined how their content and product features will be integrated. Several free-tier projects are marked for Q4 and Q1 2027, but no specific launch dates have been set. Paramount is also expanding short vertical video, launched in April, and video podcast segments to increase mobile and daytime engagement. The initiatives reflect two stated priorities: keeping subscribers from canceling and generating additional advertising revenue. Nearly 6% of Paramount+ subscribers canceled in August, the second-highest rate among major streamers, while Antenna found that more than a third of users watched the service only lightly. The planned free tier would require email registration, allowing Paramount to market to users and potentially convert them into paying subscribers after a viewing limit or time period. Paramount has spent the past year combining Paramount+ and Pluto TV on a unified technology platform, a project that is nearly complete. Analysts say the company is seeking greater scale to compete with Netflix and YouTube, but question whether its relatively small streaming audience share and the combined company's tens of billions of dollars in debt will limit its prospects. The WBD integration remains unsettled, with employees anticipating competition between technology stacks and product teams.