BEIJING—Millions of “Game of Thrones” fans soaked up the final episode of HBO’s long-running TV series—except in China, where the premium platform says the last installment got scrubbed due to trade tensions with the U.S.

Chinese viewers expecting to see the finale of the epic series instead saw a notice about “transmission medium problems” on Tencent Video, a division of internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. and the exclusive streaming provider of HBO content in China. “We will notify you of another broadcasting time,” the video platform said in a longer explanation posted on its Weibo social-media account one hour before the show was scheduled to air.

Angry fans took to Chinese social media over the delay, demanding that their fees—about 20 yuan ($2.89) a month or 198 yuan ($28.61) a year—be returned. Some threatened to delete the app and cancel accounts. One user said he had requested a day off from work to watch the last episode. “I specially took a vacation today!” he said.

An HBO spokesman said China restricted Tencent from airing “Game of Thrones” due to the trade dispute with the U.S. The spokesman said HBO didn’t experience any trouble with the program’s transmission. He referred further queries to Tencent.

A spokesman for Tencent referred to the company’s Weibo post and didn’t provide further comment.