Late Show ending May 2026

[Mark Roberts]

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De rien.

I may have left the impression that I was being critical of the reporter, and nothing could have been farther from my intent. I think there was actually some very good reporting here, with hard figures. I can come off as critical sometimes even while not meaning to; hazard of a journalism education in the 1970s? Well, anyway....

They told Colbert Wednesday and Shari Redstone Thursday? I think we're gonna need polygraphs.

It strains belief.

That would be smart of them, really, and I don't have an objection as long as the facts are correct. If $220 million in late night ad revenue is being split between four shows (Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon and Meyers), that's nowhere near enough---not if Colbert and Fallon cost $100 million each to produce.

Fallon's comment at the end of the article says it all: "I really thought I'd ride this out with him for years to come".

I should also have mentioned the impression that the article left me with: that late-night shows are an endangered species. The article mentioned that people now tend to consume these shows through YouTube clips instead of watching hour-long shows.

Ultimately, I don't think it {the timing} will matter. The current leadership of Paramount is on the way out the door, and I agree with TheBigA ---the Ellisons are very likely to sell CBS and all the linear assets to focus on Paramount and Paramount+. A damaged/ruined legacy probably isn't going to cost them a lot of sleep.

One thing is that a rich man's kid is involved. That almost always never ends up well. Aside from that, I wonder what George Cheeks is doing to his reputation, especially in the entertainment industry. Does he care; is he aware; or is he hoping to be kept on somehow at Paramount? Who knows?

There may be a willing seller but an interesting question is whether there will be willing buyers at the asking price.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

What are the production costs and revenues for JF, SM, and SNL? Has SNL gotten a boost from prime time B10 and ND FB games? Will NBC"s shows end when Lorne Michaels is a victim of a robot attack?

 

[Weiserguy]

I may have mentioned it, but I watch Daily Show and Seth the following evening via DVR. I'm in bed by 10 most nights.

How many of you have noticed that over the last 10 months or so, Seth's show has been on "vacation", or "hiatus", about two weeks per month? I thought it might have to do with his involvement in preparations for the SNL 50th anniversary gala, but since February that "2-or-3 weeks of new, 2 weeks of repeats" pattern has persisted. I doubt they've produced more than 20 fresh weeks since the start of the season last September, concurrent with the first shows without the 8G house band.

If that's not a big beautiful tell that the show's on the bubble, I don't know what is.

 

[michael hagerty]

How many of you have noticed that over the last 10 months or so, Seth's show has been on "vacation", or "hiatus", about two weeks per month? I thought it might have to do with his involvement in preparations for the SNL 50th anniversary gala, but since February that "2-or-3 weeks of new, 2 weeks of repeats" pattern has persisted. I doubt they've produced more than 20 fresh weeks since the start of the season last September, concurrent with the first shows without the 8G house band.

If that's not a big beautiful tell that the show's on the bubble, I don't know what is.

I think they cut the number of shows produced in a year along with dumping the band.

Even before that, the vacation schedule was heavy. A lot of it, I understand, has to do with union rules. A part of Seth’s crew, including Wally the cue-card guy, are shared with SNL.

 

[Rusty Muck]

One thing is that a rich man's kid is involved. That almost always never ends up well. Aside from that, I wonder what George Cheeks is doing to his reputation, especially in the entertainment industry. Does he care; is he aware; or is he hoping to be kept on somehow at Paramount? Who knows?

I'm honestly shocked that George was thrown overboard like this and this quickly. It screams of absolute dysfunction at Paramount Global, especially at CBS.

There may be a willing seller but an interesting question is whether there will be willing buyers at the asking price.

Given we are possibly on the cusp of substantial ownership consolidation in the television industry, it might be opportune for Skydance to junk CBS as soon as they can. Nexstar already was gifted the CW by both Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, they might just want CBS as well. It's just a matter of when they can buy it all, not if.

One thought: Paramount/Skydance cleaves off and retains CBS Sports and uses it for content on Paramount+ while subcontracting with the CBS network in the process for over-the-air television simulcasts.

 

[gopher101media]

Letterman’s announcement was 10 months before.

Actually the length of time in question was a little over 13-1/2 Months before Letterman's last show was done.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Actually the length of time in question was a little over 13-1/2 Months before Letterman's last show was done.

13 months, 17 days, to be precise ... but that situation differs from what we are discussing since that was a case of Letterman announcing his retirement, and then one week later CBS announcing that Colbert would be the replacement host.

 

[gopher101media]

13 months, 17 days, to be precise ... but that situation differs from what we are discussing since that was a case of Letterman announcing his retirement, and then one week later CBS announcing that Colbert would be the replacement host.

Additional details regarding Letterman's retirement from Late Night television was that no replacement had been signed when the announcement was made then in the week that followed Colbert was offered the spot which he accepted and after the announcement of Colbert taking over the contract was signed.

Regarding what's being discussed here - The writing was likely already on the wall for Colbert for the past couple of years (Due to the completely changing television landscape) and it took until just recently for CBS to decide that they needed to cut their losses and toss Colbert when his Contract runs out with no possibility of signing a replacement to take over.

Edited to add - What are the likely predictions that the people on this forum have for the other Late Night shows after Colbert leaves the air.

 

[michael hagerty]

And the difference between Letterman and Colbert is.....


Dave jumped. Stephen's being pushed. So Dave got to control the amount and timing of the notice.

“I’m 68,” he said. “If I was 38, I’d probably still be wanting to do the show. When Jay was on, I felt like Jay and I are contemporaries. Every time he would get a show at 11:30, he would succeed smartly. And so I thought, This is still viable — an older guy in a suit. And then he left, and I suddenly was surrounded by the Jimmys.”

David Letterman Opens up About His ‘Late Show’ Exit

Letterman denied the suggestion that he felt like younger latenight personalities Jimmys Fallon and Kimmel pushed him out of his job.

variety.com

 

[michael hagerty]

Additional details regarding Letterman's retirement from Late Night television was that no replacement had been signed when the announcement was made then in the week that followed Colbert was offered the spot which he accepted and after the announcement of Colbert taking over the contract was signed.

Regarding what's being discussed here - The writing was likely already on the wall for Colbert for the past couple of years (Due to the completely changing television landscape) and it took until just recently for CBS to decide that they needed to cut their losses and toss Colbert when his Contract runs out with no possibility of signing a replacement to take over.

Edited to add - What are the likely predictions that the people on this forum have for the other Late Night shows after Colbert leaves the air.

I think Seth Meyers' show either gets moved to Peacock (and is produced much more cheaply) or is gone, period in a year or two.

Fallon's in third place (1.1 million viewers to Colbert's 2.4 million), is expensive and is unlikely to inherit any Colbert audience. He probably survives as long as Lorne Michaels is at NBC, but not much longer. NBC is (even under new ownership) a bit more tradition-oriented, so they might find a way to re-invent "Tonight" that's less expensive just to keep the franchise, such as it is.

Kimmel makes noises about retirement every year, but if he gets an infusion of eyeballs from Colbert's departure (he has 1.7 million viewers now) and ABC is supportive, I can see him renewing just to be a thorn in Trump's side.

 

[MarkW]

This is utterly despicable by CBS. Let’s not pretend we don’t know what’s going on, though the apologists will certainly do their part.

You & I sometimes disagree on radio programming strategy, but I am in 100% complete agreement with you here.

Indeed, a truly disgusting move on CBS's part. This is all about appeasing certain people in Washington so that the sale to Skydance gets approved. Viewers be damned.

 

[michael hagerty]

What are the production costs and revenues for JF, SM, and SNL?

Fallon's has been estimated at north of $100 million a year (offset by a 30% New York tax credit meant to encourage film and TV production---Colbert's show gets the same break).

No idea what Seth's show costs. Certainly less. It's eligible for the tax credit, too.

The problem is that Colbert costs $100 million-plus, too, and Kimmel's probably close to that, and the late-night advertising revenue pool is now about $220 million---nowhere near enough to go around.

In fact, there's now a report that the losses on Colbert this year total $40 million:

"Late Show has been losing more than $40 million a year for CBS (though that doesn’t include some ancillary revenue). While the show still garners an average of 2.47 million viewers a night, leads its 11:35 rivals in total audience, and just this week scored its ninth consecutive Emmy nomination for outstanding talk/variety series, its ad revenue has plummeted precipitously since the 2021-22 season.

Linear ratings are down everywhere, of course, and as the Times reported, the network late-night shows took in $439 million combined in ad revenue in 2018. By last year, though, that figure had dropped by 50 percent. Measure that against the more than $100 million per season it costs to produce Late Show. By contrast, the CBS primetime and daytime dayparts are still profitable, and that programming is supported by robust license fees for streaming and other off-network viewing. Late Show, with its topical humor and celebrity interviews pegged to specific projects, has struggled on Paramount+. And of the three network late-night shows, Late Show has by far the smallest digital footprint on YouTube and other platforms."

https://puck.news/was-colberts-cancellation-really-economic-for-cbs/

SNL is very much its own animal apart from those shows. Each episode is believed to cost $4 million, so that's another $100 million a year. But it has that same 30% tax credit.

Ad revenue has been uneven. It took in $75 million in 2022-23, only $34 million in 2023-24, but because of the 50th anniversary and premium ad rates, some expect this year will have topped $100 million.

For SNL, though, that's only part of the story. NBCUniversal also credits SNL with having driven $50 million in subscription revenue for Hulu. And you may have noticed in the past couple of years, more commercial tie-ins to SNL intellectual property:

And every week, several SNL bits go viral, which matters these days.

So, I think it's likely that overall, SNL is profitable. When Lorne leaves, though, NBC is probably going to want a show with a budget closer to $2 million per episode.

 

[Mediafrog+]

One thought: Paramount/Skydance cleaves off and retains CBS Sports and uses it for content on Paramount+ while subcontracting with the CBS network in the process for over-the-air television simulcasts.

Interesting thought; it’s much like what was done north of the border with Hockey Night in Canada. A longtime CBC staple, the rights went to Rogers Sportsnet some years back, but continued as a partnership on CBC and the various Sportsnet outlets. Very little was changed about the actual broadcasts, so familiar feel.

 

[TheBigA]

Colbert is a lame duck host now untethered to say whatever he wants on national television for the next 10 months.

Maybe. If things get too far out of line, they can replace new shows with reruns for the remainder of his contract. It's been done.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Maybe. If things get too far out of line, they can replace new shows with reruns for the remainder of his contract. It's been done.

There's also the possibility that Colbert would want that to happen. Conan O'Brien's Tonight show only gained notoriety after it got cancelled because Conan knew how to manipulate a predetermined outcome into deeply negative PR for NBC.

Given the politically charged environment, I wouldn't put it past Colbert.

 

[gr8oldies]

The thought comes to mind, that Colbert can spend the next year in "what're they gonna do, fire me?" mode. Could be interesting.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

What's done is done. Second guessing the timing adds nothing to the discussion.

Hard disagree. Every single bit of this reeks to high heaven as the saying goes. Calling out the bovine excrement for what it is an important part of the picture.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Maybe. If things get too far out of line, they can replace new shows with reruns for the remainder of his contract. It's been done.

Indeed. There is a zero percent chance he’s free and clear until spring.

 

[Rusty Muck]

The thought comes to mind, that Colbert can spend the next year in "what're they gonna do, fire me?" mode. Could be interesting.

I would not be surprised if he purposefully tries to go over the line as much as possible and make this as much of a PR nightmare for CBS as possible. He still gets paid regardless and will likely cover payroll for his staff out of his own pocket if needed.

It's "I'm With Coco" all over again. It would be shocking if the show remains in production until next May.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I would not be surprised if he purposefully tries to go over the line as much as possible and make this as much of a PR nightmare for CBS as possible. He still gets paid regardless and will likely cover payroll for his staff out of his own pocket if needed.

It's "I'm With Coco" all over again. It would be shocking if the show remains in production until next May.

Indulge your Johnny Paycheck fantasy all you want, but calling out a network for settling a lawsuit widely viewed as frivolous and characterizing it as a bribe to a sitting president of the United States is not exactly what I would characterize as "restraint". Keep in mind that was before Thursday's announcement.

Beyond that, while Colbert has a transgressive streak, one that translated a lot better to Comedy Central than to legacy network late-night television, he also doesn't come across to me as a person who would take out his revenge on CBS by going out of his way to provoke controversy. There's plenty already. He also has a staff to think about.