A marquee of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is seen outside the Ed Sulivan Theater, where Kolbert’s show is made on July 18, 2025 in New York City.
Angela Weis | AFP | Getty images
The CBS’s decision has two schools around “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The first says that the cancellation is one-band out of the stored time slot- of great quality Was trying to push through red tape Finally merged with Skydance MediaA deal that was approved by the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday after more than a year.
The second says that it indicates the beginning of the end of the TV late at night.
There will be a better understanding in the entertainment industry where the truth is next year Disney Jimmy decides the fate of Kimmel’s late night show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live”.
While NBC recently extended the contracts of its two late hosts, Jimmy Follen and Seth Mayors in 2028, Kimmel’s contract is set to lapse in 2026.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” has been a late night staple since 2003, acting not only as a specific talk show on the circuit, but also as a valuable marketing hub for Disney’s dramatic and television material slate. In addition to traditional one-per-one interview, Kimmel will often host several stars from the same project, often Marvel, Star Wars and the company’s animated franchise to blockbuster title.
Clip from these chats is fed on Kimmel YouTube The channels, which have more than 20 million customers, and on social media, help generate discussions for upcoming Disney projects.
For comparison, Follen shows about 32 million customers in the show account, while Colbert has 10 million and mayors more than 5 million.
Kimmel is also a consecutive host of the Academy Awards, which is aired on Disney’s ABC, and currently hosted ABC Celebrity version “Who wants to become a millionaire.” These auxiliary assignments, as well as their annual job to shut down Disney’s upfronts for advertisers, could make Kimmel more important for Disney’s long -term future, which was for paramount or CBS than Colbert.
Nevertheless, while the next test of the media’s commitment for late night is closed, the end of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” is focusing on the growing pressures on traditional TVs and questioning whether the time slot can avoid the landscape that is developed.
Finance in focus
Late show with Stephen Colbert during the show on Thursday 17 July 2025.
Scott Kowalchyk | CBS | Getty images
The cost of producing late night programs has increased as the media industry has been raised by streaming and transferring consumer habits. Traditional Pay TV Bundle has lost millions of customers in recent years, and as they have disappeared, so there are advertising dollars.
The shifting equation has forced media companies to imbalance.
Large -scale companies like companies Comcast Nbcuniversal and Warner Brothers Discovery The option to divide its cable TV network into separate corporate institutions.
At the programming level, large shows are rapidly greenlights for release on streaming services rather than traditional networks. Salary of highly paid news anchors ModeratedTo start completely away from some traditional networks and start your own undertakings. And most of the money spent on increasing linear TV networks and streaming services is prescribed for live sports.
It leaves the title familiar in the flux.
According to a person familiar with the case, “The Late Show with Stephen Collbert” employed about 200 people and recorded an annual loss of about $ 40 million, refused to speak about non -public matters. “Jimmy Kimmel Live”, according to a person familiar with the finance of that show, employs about 250 people and loses almost the same amount.
While the pay-TV bundle still records the highest part of the profits for the heritage media companies-most of which are entrusted by fees that the pay-TV distributors hand over the network to include the network in the bundle-this figure is in a decline.
Linear TV advertising revenue has also been on a steady slope. Industry analysts and experts expected Macroeconomic uncertainty has hindered recovery.
The quarterly earnings that were reported in May, of great qualityNBCUNIVERSAL and Disney each reported low AD sale on the basis of year-on-year.
Paramount reported in May that its first-Wriendly TV advertisement was 21% below 21% to $ 2.04 billion, mainly due to comparison of the company’s previous year period. This championship is the most advertising dollar of any live event on TV. Without a super bowl, the advertisement revenue would be flat, the company said. The total revenue for the TV segment of Paramount was 13%below.
Traditional TV advertising expenses that remain, the largest part is gravity to live, which Attract the biggest audienceNbcuniversal Recently touched NBA, Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and other games due to the upcoming slate of the most recent upfront cycle, its record advertising quantity.
Disney reported in May that the quarter revenue for its domestic linear networks was below 3% to $ 2.2 billion, declining advertising low revenue. Nevertheless, Disney referred to advertising revenue for ESPN and sports, generally saw an increase in advertising revenue.
Late night landscape
An incredible roster of All-Star Talent on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at North Jevits in New York City, will avoid storytelling, Disney and its connection to each other, showing its latest projects for the coming year.
Michael Le Brecht | Disney General Entertainment Content | Getty images
These headwind paramount’s decision helps legalize the decision to cancel the “late show with Stephen Colbert”, but the end of the program has raised doubts.
The announcement that Colbert’s show will take its final bow in May 2026, publicly explained the Paramount “60 min” with Kamla Harris, a “60 min”, with Tanner Host to publicly with Tanner Host about $ 16 million with President Donald Trump.
Colbert called Basti “Big Fat Bribe” during one of his show-opening monologues, referring to the pending merger between paramount and Skydance media, requiring the approval of the Trump administration.
Paramount and CBS officials issued a statement last week stating that the cancellation was “purely a financial decision against challenging background.”
“This is not related to the show’s performance, content or other matters in paramount in any way,” the company continued.
While the ratings for Colbert’s show have declined in the last decade, the program has gained the highest views of any show at 11:35 pm, except for ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and NBC’s “Dia Tonite Show starring Jimmy Follen”.
Nevertheless, Colbert’s rating has declined each season. For the most recent September-to-time time period, Kolbert averaged around 1.9 million viewers, with most viewers to be in demographic in the number 65, according to Nielsen-a data point about the status of TV audience.
According to Nielsen, Kimmel’s viewership paints a similar picture, with the most recent spectators of about 1.6 million spectators in 2019-2020 from September-to-May time period to 2024–2025.
When Paramount listed its slate of high -rated TV shows during its final earnings ReportWith the “tracker,” the top rated series and “Mattolk”, including the highest rated new series, it listed Colbert’s “The Late Show” as the most rated broadcast late night show. “The Daily Show,” also from Paramount, was the top late night show on cable TV.
Some industry experts have questioned whether CBS may detect other ways to save money – or to save late night – in addition to cancel the “late show”. The NBC cut the cost by finishing the band at Mayors’ late night shows and shifting Follen on four nights a week instead of five.
CBS tried to bring a young demographic in an hour with “after midnight”, a late night show that went away after Colbert. The show was hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson and was focused on viral internet events.
Although CBS intended to renew the show after its first two sessions, Tomalinson decided not to expand his contract, and the show was canceled.
Disclosure: Comcast CNBC’s original company is the owner of NBCUNIVERSAL.
