The leading Indian steaming platform Hotstar has blocked the latest episode of HBO produced Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. The episode was critical of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of Trump’s visit to India.
The absence of the video hasn’t come as a surprise, though, given the content and no mincing of words from the host, John Oliver. He is known for his blunt but satirical remarks, and it was no different this time. John Oliver questioned the controversial polities and highlighted a couple of bits of inflammatory speeches, as well.
The interesting thing to notice here is that the video of the show is not available on the OTT platform. But, it can be seen on the official Youtube channel of the programmer. The video has got over six millions views, as of now. It has become a hotbed of political discussions currently.
It makes one wonder why the particular episode was blocked out by Hotstar. The only possible reason could be the arrival of Disney Plus in India. It will be available via Hotstar association, and they wouldn’t want any trouble or negativity associated with their ‘home’ platform in India.
Considering the highly polarising reactions to OTT platforms with their politically charged content, it is always better to be safe than sorry. The backlashes, in some instances, can be damaging. It is better advised to avoid such scenarios at the time of launch.
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