Byron Allen gets the Colbert timeslot

[michael hagerty]

With places like Georgia trying to get movies from LA...

California has been fighting back for a few years now:

and Computer Graphics in movies there will be unused space somewhere in LA.

Yes, but would that space fit the needs of a late-night show? Office space for a staff of 150-200, post-production in-house, sufficient space for performances and audience? And if you're doing a show with an audience, that stage needs to be accessible and have sufficient parking.

A stage deep into the lot at Paramount isn't going to cover that.

But back to the original thread subject, where is the the accounting that shows $40 million a year loses?

It doesn't exist and the only people who seem to believe it are the people who are happy Colbert's gone and CBS is being re-directed.

 

[secondchoice]

It doesn't exist and the only people who seem to believe it are the people who are happy Colbert's gone and CBS is being re-directed.

I will bet these the same people that believe Trump won the 2020 election.

 

[secondchoice]

What happens if Allen can't pay?

 

[michael hagerty]

What happens if Allen can't pay?

Byron?

Not gonna happen. Essential pull-quote:

In 2023, he offered Disney a reported $10 billion for ABC and some of its cable networks, and the following year bid $30 billion for Paramount Global. He also made plays for Tegna and BET.

None of his offers succeeded, prompting skepticism about his ability to finance such deals. Allen Media Group is wholly owned by the entrepreneur.

Allen dismissed such concerns. “I raised the money to buy the Weather Channel in one day,” he said. “There’s trillions of dollars looking for really good executives and really good deals. I have no problem raising capital.”

The Times viewed multiple letters from private equity firms and banks. Several indicated that Allen had financial backing on the deal to buy BET, and another showed he had $4 billion in funds to back the purchase of Paramount assets.

‘I didn’t want to work for anybody’: Inside Byron Allen’s journey from comic to media mogul

A relentlessly driven, shrewd deal-maker and entrepreneur, Allen is used to defying skeptics and seeing opportunity in assets overlooked by others.

www.latimes.com

 

[secondchoice]

Allen media is privately held so anything we say is just guessing, but according to Wikipedia June 2025 he announce publicly that he was "exploring strategic" options and planed to sell TV stations in 21 markets due to "financial woes and rising debt.".

Sometimes it doesn't work out. Ted Turner's growth wasn't without some bumps. But no risk no gain.

 

[michael hagerty]

Allen media is privately held so anything we say is just guessing, but according to Wikipedia June 2025 he announce publicly that he was "exploring strategic" options and planed to sell TV stations in 21 markets due to "financial woes and rising debt.".

And more recently (April of this year), Allen Media bought seven stations from Gray TV (who bought those 21 stations in 2025):

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Will Buy 7 Stations From Gray TV for $380 Million - Allen Media Group

By Brian Steinberg Byron Allen’s Allen Media has agreed to buy seven TV stations from Gray Television Inc. for $380 million in cash, the companies announced Thursday. Gray is divesting the stations as a condition of acquiring the assets of Quincy Media Inc. Allen Media will own...

allenmedia.tv

Look, anything can happen in business. But the check he writes to CBS for 11:35 at night every year is lunch money.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

And more recently (April of this year), Allen Media bought seven stations from Gray TV (who bought those 21 stations in 2025):

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Will Buy 7 Stations From Gray TV for $380 Million - Allen Media Group

By Brian Steinberg Byron Allen’s Allen Media has agreed to buy seven TV stations from Gray Television Inc. for $380 million in cash, the companies announced Thursday. Gray is divesting the stations as a condition of acquiring the assets of Quincy Media Inc. Allen Media will own...

allenmedia.tv

This press release is from 2021. Not sure if maybe you linked the wrong one.

As far as I know, Allen Media is still working to liquidate his TV licenses while the selling is good, and Gray recently closed on an acquisition of 8 or so TV stations from Allen Media, mostly in Illinois, Indiana and Mississippi.

 

[DavinaR]

Once again, the contract for The Late Show included the studio and the name. It was a package. The way out is to not renew. That's what they did.,

What if they re-named the show to not use "The Late Show" name, but a new different name and rent a cheeper place to do the new show from?

 

[PTBoardOp93]

What if they re-named the show to not use "The Late Show" name, but a new different name and rent a cheeper place to do the new show from?

Seems to me that's exactly what they did. New show, new host, new studio, new production company.

 

[TheBigA]

What if they re-named the show to not use "The Late Show" name, but a new different name and rent a cheeper place to do the new show from?

If you're Stephen Colbert, who has achieved everything he set out to achieve, why would you want to work at McDonalds?

 

[michael hagerty]

This press release is from 2021. Not sure if maybe you linked the wrong one.

My fault...this is the link that came up in Google:



The "April 29" matched the date (without a year) at the top of the news release and I missed the 2021 reference. Sorry for the error and any confusion.

 

[michael hagerty]

What if they re-named the show to not use "The Late Show" name, but a new different name and rent a cheeper place to do the new show from?

That would be a complete roll of the dice. You'd still have millions of dollars in expenses producing a cheaper show and no guarantee that the ratings would drive advertising to a break-even, much less a profit. With Byron, their expenses are as close to zero as it gets and what he pays them is very nearly pure profit.

 

[DavinaR]

Weekly Ratings: NBA Finals Boost Kimmel, 'Comics Unleashed' Sheds More Viewers

With Stephen Colbert gone from 11:35 and two NBA Finals lead-ins, 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' kicked off June with its highest-rated week since the immediate aftermath of Kimmel’s suspension last fall.

latenighter.com

 

[michael hagerty]

Weekly Ratings: NBA Finals Boost Kimmel, 'Comics Unleashed' Sheds More Viewers

With Stephen Colbert gone from 11:35 and two NBA Finals lead-ins, 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' kicked off June with its highest-rated week since the immediate aftermath of Kimmel’s suspension last fall.

latenighter.com

Yep. As a former TV programmer who passed on Byron's shows 20 years ago, the essential weakness is that there's nothing to make you eager to watch it. It's least-objectionable-alternative stuff ("Nothing else on that I wanted to watch"), which used to work in the seven-channel days, and even in the 50-channel days, but there's just too many other ways to spend half an hour.

But---again---none of this matters to CBS. They sold the time and he paid for it. The CBS owned stations and affiliates might make some noise because this will absolutely drive down the spot prices in the local breaks, but I don't expect CBS to care, much less respond.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

In fact getting movie "star" guests to promote their movies might be easier in LA than NYC.

with production moving outta LA, maybe not

 

[davideduardo]

No verified public financial evidence has ever been released to prove The Late Show was losing money.

Financial information on each show’s results are not published officially as individual shows do not have audited financial statements permitting them to be published by a public corporation. Generally, what we hear is approximate information from management executives who are discussing what we might call a “overview“. In those cases there is a wealth of information indicating that the show what is was losing considerable money while the replacement will be instantly profitable.

 

[vw86]

In those cases there is a wealth of information indicating that the show what is was losing considerable money while the replacement will be instantly profitable.

And what (and where) is that "wealth of information" other than CBS saying "because I said so"

 

[davideduardo]

And Jimmy Kimmel, who knows the genre and the finances, has called BS on CBS' rationale from the jump:

Jimmy Kimmel Says 'There's No Way' Colbert Is Losing CBS $40 Million a Year: 'It's Just Ridiculous' | Video

Jimmy Kimmel says the idea that Stephen Colbert is losing CBS $40 million a year is "just ridiculous" and "obvious lies"

www.thewrap.com

I have considerable doubt about the ability to understand finance by any entertainment show host. It is not just ad sales versus how much the talent is paid, but also includes depreciation and amortization on both equipment and studio space insurance, accounting, engineering, staff in all the areas, corporate expenses, music licenses, union fees, for guests, transportation, and all the other expenses that are involved in operating a TV show and a TV network.

 

[davideduardo]

And what (and where) is that "wealth of information" other than CBS saying "because I said so"

As a public corporation, there is considerable risk in claiming income and loss that cannot be proven or displayed. If CBS executives make a statement, it has to generally be within the realm of reality, or there are all kinds of legal ramifications, none of which are pleasant.

 

[davideduardo]

Yep. As a former TV programmer who passed on Byron's shows 20 years ago, the essential weakness is that there's nothing to make you eager to watch it. It's least-objectionable-alternative stuff ("Nothing else on that I wanted to watch"), which used to work in the seven-channel days, and even in the 50-channel days, but there's just too many other ways to spend half an hour.

With the viewership of over the air television stations continuing to decline and add a point that is generally 60% to 70% lower than it was 15 to 18 years ago, even figures and percentages and profit margins from as recently as 2003 and 2004 are invalid for comparison.

But---again---none of this matters to CBS. They sold the time and he paid for it. The CBS owned stations and affiliates might make some noise because this will absolutely drive down the spot prices in the local breaks, but I don't expect CBS to care, much less respond.

Late night TV spots in all, but a few markets are just like radio spots in that time of day: they are enormously cheap already and often given by local stations as bonuses for primetime buys.

While it is a radio comparison, the sale of the Bonneville stations in San Francisco show the depreciation in values of broadcast facilities. In that case an entire cluster was sold for less than the value of a single station as little as 10 to 15 years ago. In many cases, local television may be worse because in smaller and medium markets, much of their revenue came from carriage fees, and with the decline in cable television, those fees become less and less each year.