HBO Max pulls ‘Jasmine’ from Turkey after broadcasting regulator fines platform, removes episodes

HBO Max on Tuesday announced that it will pull its original Turkish series “Jasmine” from its Turkey catalog entirely, following sanctions imposed by Turkey’s broadcasting regulator that fined the platform and ordered specific episodes removed for violating what it called “national and moral values.”

The streaming platform said on its Turkish X account that the series would leave HBO Max Turkey on Wednesday evening but would remain available in other countries.

Jasmine, 18 Şubat Çarşamba akşamı HBO Max Türkiye'ye veda etse de başka topraklarda açmaya devam edecek. Üzülmüyoruz ve biliyoruz ki bize hep Yasemin. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZfDjpadRgl

— HBO Max Türkiye (@StreamMaxTR) February 16, 2026

“Jasmine” premiered on HBO Max on December 12. The Turkish-language drama centers on Yasemin, a young woman with a life-threatening heart condition who works as an escort and tries to bribe her way onto the heart transplant list. The show portrays her relationship with her stepbrother Tufan, who becomes obsessively attached to her and arranges her clients.

Days after its first episode, Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) launched a probe into the series and initially ordered HBO Max to remove it pending investigation.

The platform did not comply with the request, which prompted RTÜK to impose a fine of 5 percent of HBO Max’s advertising revenue and order the removal of four episodes from the platform’s catalog.

Following the fine and episode removals, HBO Max opted to withdraw the entire series rather than offer a partial catalog to Turkish viewers.

RTÜK is Turkey’s state broadcasting regulator, formally tasked with overseeing television, radio and digital streaming platforms. In recent years the agency has increasingly moved beyond its original mandate and, critics say, become an instrument for suppressing journalism and content that challenges the government’s cultural agenda.

According to RTÜK’s annual report, the regulator in 2025 issued 99 sanctions and $5.3 million in fines, along with program suspensions and temporary broadcast bans.

RTÜK has fined major streaming platforms including Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video, HBO Max and MUBI and ordered the removal of specific films and series. The regulator justified these actions by claiming the content “promoted homosexuality,” “violated public morality,” or was “contrary to family values.”

Global streaming platforms have repeatedly complied with RTÜK orders, removing content from their Turkish catalogs rather than risk escalating penalties or license revocation.