RadioActive wrote:

Everything said here may or may not be 100% correct, but it's the timing of the announcement, so soon after CBS' cave-in to Trump, that tells a tale. 

re: Timing.  The networks usually ink up their upfront ad deals by the first business week of July.  That gives them an idea of how much operating budget they'll have for the upcoming season and that's when CBS's bean counters determined they couldn't even cover their costs.   Colbert and Jon Stewart were told THAT NIGHT and it was Colbert who decided to announce it before it was leaked by one of his many, many staffers.   Even the Post is reporting that today.   And if they wanted to shut them up, it would be better for CBS (and way cheaper) to cancel the show immediately instead of letting him be a lame duck host with nothing to lose.  

Sometimes, things really are as they seem.  

The problem with the, "they should've cut costs" argument is that this would ultimately still be a sinking ship. The ever inflating costs only became an issue because the revenue is dropping and there's no reason to believe that'll change for the better. You're only delaying the inevitable. Opportunity cost is a thing and for a company like Paramount, I guess they feel their money is better spent elsewhere than late-night. Paramount isn't exactly in a good position financially to keep throwing good money after bad. You know, hence the Skydance deal. Their movie business is a wreck (their highest grossing release this year will likely be a money loser), their streaming service is borderline irrelevant and their linear assets aren't much better. 

Roughly 90% of Colbert's linear audience were over the age of 50. Younger audiences might watch a clip on YouTube, but they are not sitting through the entire show. The format is antiquated. It was conceived when there were 3 or 4 linear TV channels. Now there's endless choice. If you want an interview with a celebrity or politician, you'll find them online with zero edits for time slots ... or you could follow those people on social media outright. If you want to hear music, you have no shortage. If news and political rants are your thing, there's also no shortage. Worse off for the traditional late night shows, that competition is produced for a fraction of the budget. How many of those have 200+ staffers, a dedicated paid band and have to pull enough money to justify all of that and the Ed Sullivan Theatre? I can't think of any. That's a mindset from decades ago and is completely unjustifiable in 2025 as this content holds zero long term value. No one's watching late night episodes from years ago. If this show really costs $100 million/year, that money is better spent on content with long term value. 

The genre is the issue, not the platform. Apple TV, Netflix and Peacock have all launched streaming-only talk shows and the only ones that have lasted even three years are Letterman's interview show, which has produced 29 episodes since 2018, and Kevin Hart's, which has 38 episodes since 2021. Jon Stewart had a show on Apple TV. By its fifth episode, it hit 44,000 viewers total. There are 16 year olds live streaming video games from their bedrooms to a larger audience than that. Trump didn't cancel Conan O'Brien, Samantha Bee, James Corden, Lily Singh, Chelsea Handler, Hasan Minaj, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Wilmore, Michelle Wolf, Amber Ruffin, etc. Maybe Trump did get Colbert cancelled, but if it wasn't this year, it was going to be soon. The writing is on the wall. Viewers did that and they'll take down everyone else still working in this antiquated genre.

One has to wonder if they had already decided on Colbert's fate when they cancelled After Midnight. They claimed they had renewed that show for a third season, but decided against it because the host bailed. If the show was successful, it makes no sense to not just hire a new host. At the time, I thought that was just a cover story to avoid "CBS cancels only woman in late-night" or "Taylor Tomlinson's show flops" headlines. I guess their decision does make sense if they already knew they were getting out of late-night entirely by 2026.

Last edited by Retaw (July 22, 2025 11:16 pm)

Here is another angle. With all the money being spent on late night talk shows resulting in reduced Neilsen ratings and revenue plus the new trend of reducing the number of episodes cast members appear in scripted shows, perhaps the networks are looking at the elephant in the room that is approaching quickly. The NFL. This behemoth is really the only thing that regularly brings in steady revenue and viewers for the networks. The league knows this which is why they got an arm and a leg [$40B] for the most recent contract which ends in 2033. However, the contract has a clause allowing the NFL to re-open negotiations as soon as 2029. If CBS and FOX want to keep their Sunday afternoon packages, it could well cost them two arms and two legs with Netflix and Amazon Prime definitely being in the mix this time.

Sixty-eight? That's hardly old enough to know what a 1967 Rambler is. 😅

Colbert's show has never won an Emmy. But he's nominated this year and Hollywood voters could try and send a message by choosing his cancelled program as the best in show. 

I'd pay to hear that acceptance speech!

This year’s Emmys are on CBS. A Stephen Colbert win would be sweet revenge

And Jay Leno reappears to remind us why most of his peers don't respect him.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/jay-leno-politics-stephen-colbert-b2796878.html

Jimmy Kimmel, who is also up for an Emmy this year, has placed this billboard in L.A.



Jimmy Kimmel Buys Billboard for Stephen Colbert to Win Emmy Amid ‘Late Show’ Cancellation

Whatever you think of Stephen Colbert's show, you can't argue it wasn't successful. Unlike these would be talk shows that now fill the TV graveyard. How many of these disasters do you remember?

Et Tu, Magic Johnson? The Late Night Shows That Failed to Launch

Actually ABC did try to get into the late night game as early as 1967, when it put The Joey Bishop Show on opposite Johnny Carson. It lasted just two years and was cancelled in 1969, proving Carson was unbeatable in the 11:30 PM timeslot.

The one item of note on this show was its sidekick. Playing the Ed McMahon role was a guy no one had ever heard of up until then. His name? Regis Philbin. 

I think it was called The Western New York edition, but yes, that's essentially right. 

Paul Jeffries wrote:

mace wrote:

I am guessing this is the Hamilton/Niagara edition of TV Guide. 4-Buffalo, 10-Rochester, 35-Erie.

I think you're right, although I think in this case the Channel 10 might be CFPL-TV London.

PJ

 

I think it's actually WHEC-TV Rochester, which at the time was a CBS affiliate. I can't imagine CFPL would have carried Pat Sajak, which critics correctly predicted would be a disaster. But as a CBS station, the Rochester station would not have had much choice. Plus I don't think CFPL would come in around Western New York, especially with WHEC so nearby. 

I knew I had this somewhere.