New York, NY – The popular HBO show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” premiered its 11th season on Sunday night, but fans were surprised to find that the show’s main segments will no longer be available on YouTube the morning after airing.
According to HBO and Oliver, the premium cable network has decided to delay the posting of show segments to YouTube for a few days after episodes premiere. This is a significant departure from past practice, when viewers could easily watch the show’s main story on YouTube the day after an episode aired.
John Oliver expressed his disappointment with the new policy in a post on social media, stating that HBO would now wait until Thursday to post segments to YouTube. Despite his hope for a change of heart, Oliver directed fans to watch the show on HBO, HBO Max, or wait for the delayed YouTube posting.
HBO defended the decision, stating that it aims to encourage more viewers to stream the show on its sibling platform, Max. The network explained that YouTube provided flexibility for viewing the show when it premiered, but with the availability of Max, they hope fans will choose to watch the entire show there instead.
As of Monday afternoon, the show’s YouTube channel had not posted any recent content, leaving many of its 9 million subscribers disappointed. Segments from the show usually garner millions of views, indicating a significant online following for “Last Week Tonight.”