Regime change is at hand at HBO, as America’s eccentric British neighbor, John Oliver, has edged out America’s pot-smoking uncle, Bill Maher, in the ratings. In the five months since its debut, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver has grown to an average 4.1 million viewers a week, just above Real Time With Bill Maher’s 4 million. These numbers include both HBO Go and DVR plays, eliminating the X-factor of people not being home when Real Time airs Friday nights at 10 p.m. (Although, to be fair, Last Week Tonight has an even crappier time slot—Sunday nights at 11 p.m.)
A major factor in Last Week Tonight’s success has been HBO’s strategy of posting the centerpiece segment from each week’s show in full on YouTube after the episode airs, generating huge amounts of media coverage and social media buzz for the show. The fact that Bill Maher is still making Sarah Palin jokes in 2014 probably doesn’t help.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]