CBS will end 'The Late Show' with Stephen Colbert in 2026

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

 

14 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

If this was truly the case, they would have canceled him long ago. No network can sustain a loss of $40M a year for multiple years. The fact that they announce the end of the show within days of his criticism of their lawsuit settlement speaks volumes. 

Only a fool attacks his employer publicly, and expects to continue receiving 15 million dollar per year paycheck. 
Colbert's sense of entitlement speaks volumes.

The real question is why it took so long? Surely any employer with an ounce of intelligence and integrity would wake up about employees telling lies.  They should have gotten rid of this miscreant ages ago. Colbert is as funny as root canal..... without the anesthesia.

BTC
🤡

[Johnrom]

I am not falling for all these conspiracy theories peddled by the media about this.  The  business model has clearly changed.  These late night shows are a bygone remnant of a past era, ehen Carson and Leno and lettermsn reigned supreme.   Too much bloat of these staffs and writers. .  Not enough audience. Too many viewing options now, streaming, Netflix etc.   These shows outlived their usefulness ( kind of like Ted koppels Nighine ). and these became no longer funny for the most part. Like so many things in life, change is a given and the networks were slow to adjust to it. Bottom line - It’s the market speaking.

[+ FrankR]

This is fantastic news! Now he is free to run for public office…like Al Franken. I cant wait to see it!!!

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

On 7/18/2025 at 11:54 AM, RyanDean said:

The most concerning immediate impact will be not be on programming but on infrastructure subsidized by CPB. Especially in terms of keeping stations beyond the major markets open and operable, particularly rural radio stations and the "translators" that transmit over-the-air signals across major distances in Western states or via internet interfaces. In the small poor rural town where some of my family has long lived, the local public radio station remains -- for now -- the only freely accessible source of actually local information (weather emergency notifications, school closures, road conditions, no-cost event announcements). And this station doesn't even air much if any NPR news programming that isn't produced by regional public radio stations in the state. And with no private local funding (remember it's a poor town in a large poor state), I can't see how a tiny station like this survives these cataclysmic cuts to the CPB budget. 

Perhaps these rural areas will bring back demand for the newspaper, if radio stations and public television can't survive. 

I've tried to subscribe to my local newspaper, but the delivery boy misses over 2/3 of scheduled deliveries, so I've cancelled my subscription and rely on the radio for news.  (I don't have a television).

[Cooper]

Administrator’s Message

Gentlemen,

Please stay on topic and keep politics out of the discussion. Political comments will be removed. 

[jeezifonly]

On 7/18/2025 at 11:06 AM, BSR said:

Have to disagree … neither the government nor anyone else is silencing PBS & NPR.  Both can continue broadcasting but will simply have to do so by switching to ad-based funding or by raising more private funding.  Both options are viable.  I doubt either PBS or NPR will disappear any time soon because both have a core of die-hard (and well-to-do) fans.

So the PUBLIC “P” is silent in NPR radio and PBS television.
 

[Km411]

10 hours ago, BOZO T CLOWN said:

Colbert's sense of entitlement speaks volumes.

Sense of entitlement? Must have missed it. Colbert won’t skip a beat; he’ll simply move to a new platform. But CBS will lose viewership and advertising dollars big time. Even if their motives were purely financial, their timing couldn’t have been worse.

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

On 7/19/2025 at 11:04 AM, Ali Gator said:

If this was truly the case, they would have canceled him long ago. No network can sustain a loss of $40M a year for multiple years. The fact that they announce the end of the show within days of his criticism of their lawsuit settlement speaks volumes. 

Really? Care to cite any sources?

According to Matthew Belloni of Puck Magazine (link below), the cancellation is not exactly sudden or unjustified. According to Belloni, reports that the top execs at CBS have been wrestling with the problem for months, and Colbert himself was alerted that there were cancellation plans coming.

As it turns out, Colbert has been a huge drag on the network. Belloni noted that The Late Show has been losing about $40 million a year at least — since the 2021 season when ad revenue plummeted and never began ticking back up.

According to Belloni, "The Late show is simply not worth the $100 million annual production costs, and CBS says that the cancellation is just a matter of economics."

So, Colbert, displaying his typical hubris, arrogance, and sense of entitlement, decides to publicly trash his employer for a legal decision they made. What he should have done is get down on his hands and knees and show some gratitude to them for continuing to pay him $15 million a year to work a few hours a day with 12 weeks vacation annually. All this while the network was bleeding 40 million per year on this no-talent, overpaid, worthless, pompous ass and his feckless staff of so-called comedy writers.

Puck is a humor Magazine that has no partisan or political bent.
This should put an end to the mindless delusions of the conspiracy theorists.

Link to story:

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

BTC
🤡

Edited July 20 by BOZO T CLOWN

[Ali Gator]

18 minutes ago, BOZO T CLOWN said:

Really? Care to cite any sources?

According to Matthew Belloni of Puck Magazine (link below), the cancellation is not exactly sudden or unjustified. According to Belloni, reports that the top execs at CBS have been wrestling with the problem for months, and Colbert himself was alerted that there were cancellation plans coming.

 

Puck is a humor Magazine that has no partisan or political bent.
This should put an end to the mindless delusions of the conspiracy theorists.

Link to story:

 

BTC
🤡

So you are quoting from a 'humor magazine' and believe it's the truth. You might as well use The Onion or Fox as your reliable source. 

What's more comical is the thinking that sourcing from a 'humor magazine' will put an end to 'delusional conspiracy theories'. Duly noted. 

 

Edited July 20 by Ali Gator

[Ali Gator]

22 hours ago, Johnrom said:

I am not falling for all these conspiracy theories peddled by the media about this.  The  business model has clearly changed.  These late night shows are a bygone remnant of a past era, ehen Carson and Leno and lettermsn reigned supreme.   Too much bloat of these staffs and writers. .  Not enough audience. Too many viewing options now, streaming, Netflix etc.   These shows outlived their usefulness ( kind of like Ted koppels Nighine ). and these became no longer funny for the most part. Like so many things in life, change is a given and the networks were slow to adjust to it. Bottom line - It’s the market speaking.

Apparently, according to (questionable) reports, the market has spoken since 2020 when viewers started tuning out and never returned.

If the show is losing $40M, and has been since the pandemic (allegedly), then CBS would have canceled it years ago. CBS has been around for over 70 years - they are not a start-up network. They don't keep something in production and continue throwing good money after bad.  Network shows are cancelled abruptly when the ratings are low, advertisers pull out and the network starts taking a loss. They don't keep the show running for 5+ years and continue to lose money. 

[+ BOZO T CLOWN]

2 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

Apparently, according to (questionable) reports, the market has spoken since 2020 when viewers started tuning out and never returned.

If the show is losing $40M, and has been since the pandemic (allegedly), then CBS would have canceled it years ago. CBS has been around for over 70 years - they are not a start-up network. They don't keep something in production and continue throwing good money after bad.  Network shows are cancelled abruptly when the ratings are low, advertisers pull out and the network starts taking a loss. They don't keep the show running for 5+ years and continue to lose money. 

Questionable reports? You are the only one questioning them. 

If you don't like Puck, Bozo is eagerly anticipating for you to cite your pristine sources that CBS was not losing 40 million bucks a year on the Late Show.
Bozo won't hold his breath.

Your argument makes no sense. The WNBA loses 50 million bucks a year, yet their players keep getting raises. To Shari Redstone, a multi-billionaire, it was worth losing $40 million a year (if you know anything about her, you can figure out why this was).

Moral of this story, faux comedians with hateful rhetoric and twisted minds have ruined late night TV. Let the dominos start to fall.....

This was not only a sound financial decision, but also a looooooong overdue one!

BTC
🤡

[Ali Gator]

2 minutes ago, BOZO T CLOWN said:

Moral of this story, faux comedians with hateful rhetoric and twisted minds have ruined late night TV. Let the dominos start to fall.....

 

If this is true, then both "Jesse Watters" and "Guttfield!" on FOX News should be next to go. Talk about a faux comedians with hateful rhetoric and twisted minds...

[Johnrom]

With all due respect, Networks will subsidize known franchises with poor economics for a while.  If they were truly good businesspeople, they would have tried aggressively downsize staff, make cuts and make the numbers work.  But it’s all on autopilot and it finally crashed and burned.  The decline was slow and steady and the lazy management puts their heads in the sand because it’s a “legacy  show.”  Hope is not a strategy.  The network finally cut their losses, long overdue.  There is no conspiracy.  

[pubic_assistance]

I've tried watching Colbert's show several times, under the impression it was a comedy show. Seemed more like a propaganda feed to me. Never understood how it stayed on the air as long as it did. 

[TonyDown]

On 7/19/2025 at 8:27 AM, BOZO T CLOWN said:

 

Only a fool attacks his employer publicly, and expects to continue receiving 15 million dollar per year paycheck. 
Colbert's sense of entitlement speaks volumes.

The real question is why it took so long? Surely any employer with an ounce of intelligence and integrity would wake up about employees telling lies.  They should have gotten rid of this miscreant ages ago. Colbert is as funny as root canal..... without the anesthesia.

BTC
🤡

Johnny Carson kept poking NBC for years, in more ways than one!

[TonyDown]

 

Will be curious to see how Late Night wraps up, if they play a lot of reruns, book a lot of Colbert's favorite guests, etc.

 

FYI, Colbert did the voice of Ace 20+ years ago.

I wonder where his career will head next.

[Km411]

Conspiracy or no, CBS’s timing couldn’t have been worse. CBS viewership leans left, and Democrats trust the network more than Republicans. They’ll lose critical viewership when then can least afford it. Or maybe that’s the plan; rebrand as a conservative outlet. That doesn’t seem smart given the competition in that space and the limited demographic. We shall see.

[Km411]

8 hours ago, BOZO T CLOWN said:

Moral of this story, faux comedians with hateful rhetoric and twisted minds have ruined late night TV. Let the dominos start to fall.....

😂 Colbert is one of the most influential political satirists of our time. But, he’s widely popular among the liberal and educated, so I can understand why you’d only see hateful rhetoric and a twisted mind.

[pubic_assistance]

12 minutes ago, Km411 said:

he’s widely popular among the liberal and educated

I didn't realize he had such a diversity in his audience. 

[Km411]

There you go; you could be a writer for his next gig 😂 

[jackcali]

18 hours ago, Johnrom said:

With all due respect, Networks will subsidize known franchises with poor economics for a while.  If they were truly good businesspeople, they would have tried aggressively downsize staff, make cuts and make the numbers work.  But it’s all on autopilot and it finally crashed and burned.  The decline was slow and steady and the lazy management puts their heads in the sand because it’s a “legacy  show.”  Hope is not a strategy.  The network finally cut their losses, long overdue.  There is no conspiracy.  

Another motivation that nobody has mentioned is that when a company is being bought, it's pretty common for it to make some cost-saving moves pre-acquisition, either because the buyer wants those actions to be taken (to clean things up before the new ownership) or the executives who are hoping to keep their jobs want to look good (and not "lazy" as Johnrom says).  This action was taken with Skydance's approval (formal or informal), so it was a long-simmering action. 

That being said, the timing couldn't have been worse.