If you think CBS wasnt forced into this decision, youre not reading the room/between the lines enough.
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Stephen Colbert Reveals He Declined Five-Year CBS Deal in 2023
- Thread starter nomadcowatbk
- Start date
If you think CBS wasnt forced into this decision, youre not reading the room/between the lines enough.
I disagree. If the money was there, Mr. Colbert still would be. Happy to view any real factual information that contradicts this. Paramount/CBS, the entity that made the decision has consistently maintained it is about economics.
Money is only a small reason this happened. CBS was fine with the money situation till our current presidential administration leaned on CBS and CBS wanted the merger/sale
Happy to read any reporting, not commentary, laying that out.
Hit google.. its all over the place.
Here's one. Paramount made an agreement with the FCC to get approval. Why was no similar agreement required from Nexstar?
FCC Chairman Praises Skydance’s “Commitment To Serious Changes At CBS”; Democratic Commissioner Blasts “Cowardly” Capitulation
FCC chairman Brendan Carr praised Skydance Media's commitment to hire an ombudsman for CBS News after it completes its merger with Paramount Global.
deadline.com
For one thing, I'm sure that Colbert's ratings went up as the end of the show approached. There was bound to be a drop-off, whether the comparison was to The Late Show or to alternate choices in the time slot.
For another, "Comics Unlimited" is a different type of show. It's not nearly as topical as The Late Show was. The type of audience to which The Late Show appealed is mostly not the same.
Finally, Allen bought the time. CBS makes money regardless of the show's performance. It's Allen's money to lose. Allen wanted to be in late night, for who knows whatever reason, and he was willing to pay the money to get there. CBS no doubt saw multiple benefits: a guaranteed flow of revenue, a show that is far less likely to offend Washington decision-makers who could weigh in on future Paramount business deals, and advancing the ideological project of neutering CBS as a media outlet that can hold politicians to account.
There's also the perception of quality. It feels like a Nordstrom has been torn down and replaced by a dollar store.
There won't be documentation where someone admits the company dropped a show for political reasons. This is an administration that governs in secret. They want to require all federal employees to sign non-disclosure agreements. They already have such a requirement to work in the white house and pentagon. But all public comments from the president and his FCC head indicate that they weren't unhappy about the way things transpired. They encouraged the other networks to do the same thing.
Once again, if this is only about finances, why is the government so concerned about the profitability of TV networks? Where is that written in the communications act?
Once again, if this is only about finances, why is the government so concerned about the profitability of TV networks? Where is that written in the communications act?
With the occasionally notable exception of a “president” who publicly boasts like a mafia boss when his crew takes out someone on his enemies list.
Most transparent administration in history they claim. Then do the opposite.
Maybe they just don’t want anyone disclosing how bad the stench is.
The most obvious “wink wink” imaginable.
Gee, I wonder.
Something about needing Trump's DOJ to approve a merger? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
No reasonable person expected otherwise, period. The likelihood that Byron Allen's cheap, recyclable programs will ever come close to the ratings of The Late Show is pretty much zero. CBS knows that, which is why Byron Allen is paying them, rather than the other way around.
And Byron Allen is performing per expectations. Second full week ratings were even lower than the first full week, which in turn were lower than for the debut night. And all were well below how Colbert had been performing. Per Latenighter:
I suspect that the show will hit bottom at some point and stabilize, but I suspect it will be a very low bottom. If "Comics Unleashed" stabilizes at around 500,000 viewers (which I think is a reasonable guess), that would be an over 80% decline from what Colbert had been doing. At this point, I'd say that the absolute "best case" scenario is that it "only" loses 70% of the audience that Colbert had. And while CBS may not care, I can't imagine the affiliates are happy -- they'd do better by dumping the network for late night and just running some bartered off-net shows. That used to be common practice, but I'm guessing they're contractually prohibited from doing so, even though CBS scheduling what they are in late night really is a betrayal of their obligation to their affiliates.
I'd be fascinated to learn what's happening with the +/- 2 million viewers. How many went to Fallon? Kimmel? Elsewhere - and if so, where? Nowhere? And how many of the current Comics Unleashed viewers are former Colbert viewers? Is it inertia - watching the late news and then just leaving the set on?
Numbers are one story, but there may be some fascinating numbers behind the numbers.
Numbers are one story, but there may be some fascinating numbers behind the numbers.
This was posted last week:
Kimmel, Fallon & Byron Allen Ratings Revealed: How Is CBS Doing Without Colbert?
The late night numbers are in.
In 2024 (before the Presidential election, by the way) Colbert averaged 2.577 million viewers,, with 292,000 in the 18-49 demographic. In 2025, Colbert averaged 2.42 million viewers, with 219,000 in the 18-49 demo. And in the first quarter of 2026, with news of the cancellation, but not the giant hype of the last few weeks, Colbert averaged 2.69 million viewers.
It's not fair to compare Comics Unleashed with the final month of Colbert, but how about a comparison with the Spring of 2024 or 2025?
It’s still a huge drop compared to spring 2024 or 2025.