‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ on YouTube will now be delayed

Last Week Tonight aired its Season 11 premiere last night, but the latest video from John Oliver is not yet available on YouTube.

Update: In a statement to 9to5Google this afternoon, an HBO spokesperson confirmed that the network is now “delaying” when Last Week Tonight is available on YouTube. The “hope [is that] those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.” WBD does acknowledge how YouTube helped make the show successful by allowing for “flexible viewing for the main story.”

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. We are now delaying that availability and hope those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.

HBO spokesperson

According to John Oliver, new videos will be posted to YouTube on Thursday. The comedian “hope[s] they change their mind.”

Original 11:59 a.m. PT: Historically, Last Week Tonight publishes the main story to YouTube after the episode finishes airing — around 11:30 p.m. — on the West Coast (PT). This is not the full episode, with the weekly recap at the start or any ending segment after the big topic not included. 

This has been the pattern for years (10 seasons) now, but as of Monday morning nothing has been posted to YouTube. The episode is fully available on (HBO) Max.

While the Presidents’ Day holiday in the US could be playing a role, another possibility is that Warner Bros. Discovery is changing its stance so that more people subscribe — $9.99 per month “With Ads,” $15.99/month “Ad-Free,” or $19.99 for “Ultimate Ad-Free” — to the streaming service directly. 

After all, why pay if you can just wait a few hours on Sunday night to get it on YouTube. (Personally, I’ve found the weekly recap at the top worth subscribing for.) If this is indeed what’s happening, the episode could still be posted on YouTube but a few days later instead of instantaneously.  

We’ve reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery for more information. 

Oliver’s videos rack up millions of views on YouTube with 9.35M channel subscribers. There are a pair of videos with 41 million views, while two from last year/season have around 10 million views. Last Week Tonight was last renewed in December and will air for three more seasons until 2026. It has received 28 Emmys.