HBO has brought back its tradition of posting “Last Week Tonight” clips on YouTube the day after their premiere following an outcry from host John Oliver.
Despite previously delaying posting clips from Sunday editions of “Last Week Tonight” from Mondays to Thursdays to encourage viewing on Max, HBO has appeared to reverse their decision and go back to the Monday posting schedule just in time for the show’s new season.
After Season 12 of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” debuted on Sunday, Feb. 16, the majority of the episode was made available on YouTube on Monday, Feb. 17, seeming to set a new precedent for the current installment.
The delay in posting clips on YouTube throughout Season 11 did not lead to any significant change in viewership so the show opted to go back to a Monday posting schedule, in line with Oliver’s preference, an individual with knowledge of the change told TheWrap.
At the start of Season 11 in February 2024, fans began noticing that “Last Week Tonight” was not available on YouTube on the subsequent Monday as it had been in seasons past, and was instead delayed to a Thursday posting schedule.
Oliver notified viewers on social media that HBO had decided to hold back posting clips on YouTube until Thursday after the Season 11 premiere though he said candidly at the time, “I hope they change their mind.”
“When ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ premiered on HBO, the convenience of watching on Max did not exist, so YouTube allowed flexible viewing for the main story as well as promotional exposure,” a representative for HBO told TheWrap at the time. “We are now delaying that availability and hope those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.”
The delay was in effect for the entirety of Season 11, and Oliver continued to speak out about his discontent with the change, saying in a September interview that the change was “massively frustrating.”
“It’s massively frustrating to me. I was not happy with it at all,” Oliver reiterated during a recent interview with the New York Times podcasts. “I hope it works because I worry about it … It remains to be proven to me this was necessary.”
It appears that HBO took note of Oliver’s request to shift back to the typical Monday posting time for Season 12.
“Last Week Tonight” airs Sundays on HBO and streams on Max.
