Russian Streaming Service Amediateka Cut 75 Hours from Western TV Shows, Over Half Tied to LGBT Content

On October 12, 2026, the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona published an extensive data investigation revealing that the prominent Russian streaming platform Amediateka has systematically censored nearly half of the foreign television series in its catalog, cutting roughly 75 hours of runtime. More than half of all excised footage — over 44 hours — was directly connected to LGBTQ+ themes and characters.

According to the investigation by Mediazona, journalists developed a specialized algorithmic tool to compare original broadcasts frame by frame with the versions streamed in Russia across 462 available series. Indicators of re-editing were identified in 368 titles, with definitive, verified censorship confirmed in at least 200 shows. Researchers manually reviewed more than 9,500 flagged fragments, excluding benign production discrepancies and accounting for differences between US (23.976 fps) and European/Russian (25 fps) broadcast frame rates. Alongside approximately 57 hours of trimmed scenes, the total figure encompasses entire episodes and series pulled completely due to restricted subject matter (roughly 18 additional hours).

LGBTQ+ content represented the single largest category of deletions. Across acclaimed series such as Six Feet Under (nearly three hours excised), The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Euphoria, The Wire, and Why Women Kill, censors eliminated not only intimacy and kissing scenes but entire relationship arcs, coming-out narratives, and transgender storylines. Deletions extended to minor visual cues, including pride flags, rainbow motifs on clothing, and documentary segments produced by openly transgender journalists on unrelated topics. Beyond visual cuts, partner dubbing studios adhered to formal network guidelines that systematically altered spoken dialogue: replacing “gay” with “different,” recasting same-sex partners as “friends,” and substituting mentions of oral sex with “kisses.”

Among other censored categories, journalists identified political topics (12 hours, spanning mentions of Vladimir Putin, the war in Ukraine, and critiques of Soviet history in documentaries), taboo themes such as incest and abuse (over 4.5 hours, including the Lannister storyline in Game of Thrones), narcotics and pharmaceuticals (4 hours and 40 minutes, targeting both illegal drugs and prescription medications), non-traditional heterosexual sexual practices (4 hours), suicide (1 hour), and discussions of abortion or decisions to remain child-free (52 minutes). Amediateka did not respond to requests for comment. AMC, the US rights holder for several featured titles, stated that international broadcasters frequently adapt programming to conform to local cultural standards and broadcast regulations, while HBO noted that it holds no active licensing agreements in Russia.

Launched in 2013 by the Russian film studio Amedia, Amediateka occupies a pivotal market position as the exclusive Russian licensee for catalog content from HBO, Showtime, AMC, and Warner Bros., supplying localized dubs to major domestic services like Kinopoisk and Okko. This pervasive editing occurs against the backdrop of escalating state repression: in late 2022, Russia banned all “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among adults and minors alike, and in November 2023, the Russian Supreme Court designated the non-existent “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization. Russian courts have repeatedly fined Amediateka for age-rating violations and the distribution of LGBTQ+ content.

Urania has closely monitored administrative and judicial enforcement against digital platforms in Russia. Previously, the journal detailed court statistics for 2025 showing that streaming services and book publishers were fined nearly 69 million rubles over LGBT content, as well as court rulings ordering the formal banning of feature films depicting LGBTQ+ narratives.