Q&A: Bango VP Marketing Giles Tongue Talks Netflix-Warner Bros. and the Future of SVOD Bundling
News this week of an updated all-cash offer brought Netflix’s still-in-limbo $82bn bid to acquire Warner Bros. a few steps closer to resolution, even as a competing hostile offer from Paramount-Skydance and rumors of a short but hefty thumb on the scale continue to complicate matters.
But the increasing likelihood of a Netflix–Warner Bros. alliance inevitably leads one to speculation of how the resulting juggernaut might impact global and regional SVOD markets where superbundles already abound in various forms. In the interest of exploring the possibilities, I spoke with Giles Tongue, VP Marketing at superbundling technology solutions provider Bango about how things might shake out (depending not just on who acquires WarnerBros but what they decided to do with the acquired IP) and how the SVOD scene might tilt on its axis should this merger come to pass.
Giles Tongue, VP Marketing, Bango
Judging from Bango's available data, is there a strong consumer appetite for this sort of megabundle consolidation in the SVOD market?
Consumers have a large appetite for subscription bundling. At the same time, subscription fatigue is rife: our data shows that 62% of subscribers are unable to afford all the subscriptions they want, while 39% find it hard to keep track of their subscriptions and a further 29% pay for a subscription they aren’t using.
It’s clear that consumers are looking for more flexibility and control when it comes to signing up for services. Our data shows that 46% of 18–24-year-olds pay for a subscription they aren’t using, which is a strong signal of how easy it is to lose track of what’s active and what’s actually delivering value. At the same time, 62% of consumers would rather bundle than sign up for individual services, highlighting a clear need for consolidation that makes subscriptions easier to discover, manage, and pay for.
If done well, bundling two or more major content brands, whether via a bundle or an acquisition, can reduce friction for consumers, improve perceived value and help people feel more confident about what they’re spending and why they’re spending. Both the businesses and the consumer stand to benefit.
In terms of subscription management, how would a combined Netflix-Warner Bros/HBO Max offering impact the future of standalone subscription streaming apps vs. bundled subscription models?
Bundling streaming apps delivers excellent value for consumers, particularly when the selling party provides some level of subsidy, which they often do as part of a customer acquisition or reward objective. Our data shows that 68% of subscribers now shop around for the best deal before signing up. We call these “savvy subscribers.”
Bundling streaming apps is already happening in the market. In fact, a Netflix and HBO Max bundle is already available in the market through Verizon. It offers strong value to subscribers at $10 per month for nearly $20 worth of subscriptions. But the future of streaming apps and how they’re bundled is still uncertain.
We don’t yet know what Netflix will do. Will they combine the two apps into one, or keep them separate? Either way, consolidation, whether through bundling or full integration, will help consumers manage both their subscriptions and household expenditure. If the services stay separate, it actually preserves the maximum number of options for bundling and promotional offers. In short, there’s a potential win-win for consumers.
How does this premium streaming service consolidation impact the logistics of subscription management?
Bango’s Digital Vending Machine is used by streaming services to distribute their products through indirect channels, increasing their reach for customer acquisition and enabling them to acquire potential customers through bundling.
The Digital Vending Machine also helps resellers offer multiple types of subscriptions, whether that’s a range of streaming services alongside gaming, productivity, or anything else. Regardless of what a consumer’s interests and passions are, we can create a bundle for that.
We handle all the complexity involved in subscription management, whether that be entitlement management, price changes, product tiers, trial periods and who needs to be billed what and when. All of that is managed directly within the Digital Vending Machine.
However, potential consolidation manifests at a product level, whether it’s single app, multiple apps, or different approaches by geography, we handle this kind of complexity every day for the world’s leading companies.
How is a Netflix-WB megabundle likely to impact subscription pricing at premium and ad-supported levels? Would increased pricing at the premium level for enhanced content offerings be likely to drive more subscribers toward ad-supported tiers, or would increased value at the top level be more likely to drive ad-free subscription sales?
Unless you were a Sky customer, those outside the USA wouldn’t have had access to HBO Max content for years. That means there’s already a huge and exciting back catalogue of content to access in 2026, as HBO Max finally rolls out. If the merger results in HBO Max content being included within Netflix, that would increase the value derived from a Netflix subscription.
Ad tiers also create a lower-hurdle entry point for brands and can appeal to different demographics or user groups. Streamers have generally been investing in the sophistication of their ad businesses, and Netflix’s recent results show they’ve been very successful on this front, with plans to double their ad revenue next year. With more changes coming, all eyes will be on how the product mix evolves post-merger.”
Do premium content bundles like this create "can't cancel" subscriptions that will reduce churn, and lower the number subscriptions viewers feel they need, or do they just create dissatisfaction by driving up prices?
According to our data, 70% of subscribers now have what we call a “Forever Subscription.” Across all our survey data, where we’ve asked the same question, Netflix is always at the top of that list, which would likely only enhance its appeal if HBO Max content were to appear inside Netflix.
As top-tier streaming services continue to consolidate, how will smaller services be affected? Will middle-tier services become unsustainable outside of aggregation platforms? (Or has that happened already?)
Some streaming services are entirely or mostly dependent on indirect sales, in particular through Amazon Channels. I don’t think that this consolidation changes that.
Bango data shows that the average person has 5.4 subscriptions. Of those, two are already purchased through indirect channels. That’s 37%, or every third subscription. This shows us that subscribers themselves are also dependent on third-party distribution to help them discover and buy their subscriptions.
Consolidation hasn’t been as prolific as we might have expected. Instead, we’re seeing companies use bundling as a way to partner. I really like the Fox One multi-channel launch, which was the bundling of Fox One with Fox Nation to create extra value for subscribers. It also offered Fox One with ESPN, a bundle promoted by both sides through their own channels. In addition, they leveraged telco bundling, with Fox One available through Verizon and Charter (Spectrum). This is a smart way to maximize reach and create more opportunities for customers to buy, giving them the best chance of immediate sales from day one.
This could be the new playbook for subscription brands, with multi-channel distribution across both direct and indirect routes, while leveraging partnerships.
Will this new combination of must-see IP cause telcos, pay TV ops, and OEMs to reconfigure their packages or reconsider their pricing?
Telcos are under real pressure in 2026. The rise of MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) is putting an enormous price squeeze on MNOs, and MrBeast is also rumored to be entering this space. A celebrity brand like that could drive real disruption and churn in the market.
As a result, telcos aren’t just focused on acquisition; they’re increasingly looking for ways to retain customers. Bundling is proven to do this. Work we did with Parks Associates showed that, for an ISP, the more bundles subscribers took, the higher the net promoter score (a proxy for loyalty).
Is library merging of this magnitude likely to worsen streaming's existing content discovery woes, or drive more innovation in AI-driven recommendation engines?'
Whether or not library merging worsens a streaming platform’s existing content entirely down to execution. In theory, “Where do I find my show?” becomes simpler if two services become one.
However, when people are simply browsing for something to watch, the biggest issue is often that there are too many options, making it harder to decide. So increasing the number of shows available within a single app may actually exacerbate that challenge.
That said, these companies are experts in discovery. They’re constantly testing and improving, and they’ve been extremely successful, so I’m sure they’ll take this in their stride.
Do premium mergers like this strengthen the subscription streaming model in the long run, or do they just add more top-heaviness to a market that's already pricing out much of its audience?
Our research shows that around 62% of subscribers can’t afford all the subscriptions they would like. However, if services are consolidated, the same data suggests they would use and spend more. When asked about a single hub to manage all their subscriptions in one place, almost half (47%) said they would spend more time using their subscriptions, and a further 44% even said they would sign up for more subscriptions. The stats show consumers know what they want, and streaming platforms need to make the right choices.
How would a Netflix-Warner Bros. merger change the competitive balance in the industry, vis a vis other SVOD contenders like Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, in terms of pricing, scale, and reach?
I would consider those brands peers, rather than competitors. We like to imagine the “subscription wars” as if one company is on a battlefield with another and only one can win, but I don’t think it’s really like that. And it’s certainly not how real people behave. Consumers might spend time watching linear TV, like local news, or their favourite streamer on YouTube, just as readily as they might choose Netflix, Prime, or Disney+.
Our latest report was called Subscriptions Assemble because we’re seeing an increasing amount of bundling and a trend towards co-opetition, for example, Netflix+Max through Verizon, and FoxOne with ESPN.
Netflix already has the most subscribers; they recently announced 325M global subscribers. Adding further value to the Netflix subscription could have various implications, including for pricing. But relative to one another, subscription brands are largely running their own race, just as YouTube, traditional TV, and other forms of media are all competing for attention in parallel.
Is this merger likely to drive further consolidation in the SVOD market?
The potential for consolidation is already there, and I don’t think this potential deal changes much in that respect. That said, bundling also provides a pathway that can reduce the need for a merger if the motivation is growth. Partnerships, bundling, and using third-party channels may be quicker and easier ways to acquire new customers than a full corporate merger.
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