Game of Thrones isn’t just beloved in the U.S.; it’s a global phenomenon, with millions of people around the world eagerly watching Sunday’s series finale, “The Iron Throne.”
That is, if they could. Tencent, which broadcasts the show in China, made this statement at the time the episode was supposed to air:
"Dear users, we regret to inform you that the sixth episode of the eighth season of Game of Thrones will not go online at the intended time due to media transfer issues. We will keep you informed of the broadcast time."
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, an HBO representative said that there had been no transmission issue and that Tencent was blocking the show on China’s end “due to the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.”
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Chinese fans were not pleased. “What’s next — cutting off internet connections between China and the US?” wrote asked on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. “Shame, shame, shame,” others posted, with accompanying images of bells, of course.
The trade war between China and the United States has been going for about a year now, with both countries raising tariffs on the other’s goods. Just the other day, the U.S. Commerce Department restricted the access of Huawei, an enormous telecommunications firm in China, to the American market, although it pulled back a bit when it looked like that was going to be result in too much of an economic disruption.
Trade wars have all kinds of collateral effects. For example, in response to U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, China imposed tariffs on U.S. agricultural products like soybeans, pork and grain sorghum, which has made it harder for some American farmers to turn a profit. But entertainment can be effected, too, particularly as state Chinese media calls for a “people’s war” against the U.S. For example, CNN Business reports that streaming platforms in China abruptly cancelled the premiere of a Chinese drama called Over the Sea I Come to You, about a Chinese father who sends his only child to study in America. Forestalling the airing of “The Iron Throne,” the series finale of the most popular entertainment American television show in years, is in keeping with that.
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h/t Business Insider, CNBC, Reuters, CNN