If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's how the old saying goes, and it's finally being applied to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
The HBO late-night TV show kicked off season 12 on Sunday night. While most of the late-night world was focused on Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary, John Oliver returned to his spot behind the desk.
And while the format stayed the same, a major change has been implemented. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver main story segments are now available on YouTube the same night as it airs on HBO and streams on Max.
This reverses a decision put into place last season. Episodes that aired on Sunday nights were withheld from YouTube until Thursday. Previously, Oliver's main story segment went live on YouTube the day after the episode aired. HBO made the decision in an effort to increase subscribers of its Max streaming service.
However, the move was immediately criticized by fans and even Oliver. The comedian has never hesitated to bite the hand that feeds, and called the YouTube decision "massively frustrating" at the time.
Pressure from Oliver played a role in HBO reversing its decision. The data also didn't justify the move either, as Max subscriptions failed to increase by any noticeable margins after the Last Week Tonight YouTube delay.
Watch the first Last Week Tonight with John Oliver season 12 segment on YouTube now
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver can return to reaching a larger audience through YouTube. Most fans weren't patient enough to wait around until Thursday to see what Oliver had to say on the previous Sunday.
The season 12 premiere is no different. Oliver, who appeared earlier in the week on The Daily Show to warn America of its "monarchy era," devoted the entire episode to recapping Donald Trump's first month back in power. The comedian also gave special attention to Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.
The YouTube clip has already amassed 3.8 million views in just over a day. Oliver and HBO should be happy with those numbers, and they'll only go up as season 12 continues.