HBO Delays Posting ‘Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’ Clips to YouTube in Hopes of Signing Up More Max Subscribers

HBO is no longer giving away free next-day looks to the popular “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” comedy talk show.

With the Season 11 premiere of the show on Feb. 18, HBO has ceased sharing the main feature and other segments from “Last Week Tonight” on the show’s YouTube channel the following day. The reason? The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned network wants people to pay up for Max, which is priced starting at $9.99 per month for the ad-supported plan.

Oliver broke the news to his followers in a Feb. 19 post on X (aka Twitter). “I know I usually share a link to our main story here on Mondays, but HBO has decided they’re going to wait until Thursday to post them to YouTube from now on,” the host explained. “I hope they change their mind, but until then, you can see our piece about the Supreme Court on HBO, on MAX, and on YouTube in a few days.”

An HBO rep confirmed that going forward, clips from “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” will not be shared on YouTube until four days after the premiere on HBO and Max.

“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,” the HBO spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Variety. “We are now delaying that availability and hope those fans choose to watch the entire show on Max.”

“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” airs Sunday nights on HBO at 11 p.m. Last December, HBO announced it renewed the Emmy-winning show for three additional seasons, through 2026. “We’re very happy to get to keep making this show with our fantastic staff,” Oliver said. “We will continue trying to stretch the term ‘entertainment’ to the breaking point.”