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I wouldn't trust a quote from the New York Post as much as I could throw a knuckleball effectively.

Yes, it's the Post, but they're making the same point I did, that late night's advertising base has declined and you're apt to see a Bulbhead as seen on TV product these days more than you will something like a high-income earner product like perfume, or a lot of prescription drug ads (I feel like half their breaks feature at least one PrEP ad). That might be fine for an MTV2 Wayans Bros. repeat or Perry Mason on MeTV (which you can argue the retro networks do take a major bite out of late night's HUT audience for politically-exhausted viewers). It certainly isn't for a late night show, but it's across every network, including Comedy Central and has nothing to do with politics, but more that audiences are exhausted with advertising in everything they watch. There was the bite earlier this week where Jon Stewart admits that without him and South Park, Comedy Central is a shell of a network, and we're starting to see the underinvestment in cable now bleed into broadcast. It's been that way even before COVID, and that momentum the form had is gone.

I can't wait for the day the entire TV industry collapses under its own greed. All it takes when they jack up their demands for a slate of programs that would make Byron Allen's output look appealing. Basically when the NFL pulls their games off Broadcast TV because it won't be financially feasible anymore.

I don't think it's fair to say they "didn't consider" things, because again, we lack the information. "Financial reasons" could, for all we know, have included starting on negotiating Colbert's next contract, and him going "$25 million and I keep the band, or I walk!" and that made it financially unviable. Guess which conspiracy theory narrative works out better for his PR? Some industry analysts are starting to doubt Kimmel or Fallon will be around in 5 years, either. Someone at 11:35 had to be first to go, and we've already seen late night talkers in different time slots (Corden, Conan) go already. There are fewer soaps on then there used to be, and soaps have never really been known for high production values and expenses. Price probably costs very little to actually produce, as it's all product placement, and they can be efficient with time and tape multiple episodes a day. Late Show, however, is paying for Colbert's fat contract, plus expenses and fees for celebrity guests. These genres are all very different things and have very different profit margins.

So I wasn't able to pull the KLAS newscast off in this next batch. But it's coming. I see the tape in the stack. However, I did find my oldest Boise newscast ever. Here's a mix of commercials and an election night update from KBCI 2 on November 5th, 1985 And the newscast aforementioned. KIVI NewsWatch 6 Nightcast, September 25th, 1985! Open to KING 5 News on 12/14/1997, Allen Schauffler and Lori Matsukawa and in this Today clip from September 5th, 1986, we get a segment on Jolt Cola with Bryant Gumbel, a KING 5 News update with Don Madsen and an ASL interpreter (very unique for a commercial TV station), and their own Jean Enersen joins Bryant as the co-host!!!

My theory is that a lot of the non-writing staff for Meyers's show (camera operators, stagehands, cue card wielders) also work on SNL and thus have to work on Saturdays, so the doubling-up on Mondays is solely to allow them to have Tuesdays off.

Wait. George Cheeks makes the decision, he tells Colbert Wednesday night, and THEN he tells Shari Thursday morning?!? This story not only throws George under the bus, it tramples him over with a marching band, stomps him over with a herd of elephants and runs him over with a freaking steamroller.

Also think it needs to be asked: If Trump was behind this, why is it taking so damn long? If Trump was the one pressuring CBS, then you'd have to assume he'd want Colbert gone now, not give him carte blanche to ratchet up the attacks for almost a year.

Known for some time, today was retirement day for KSDK's Kay Quinn after 36 years.

Not even certain network insiders, CBS and Late Show employees buy its purely financial. Also, autocrats in many countries have used shakedowns, rather than arrests, to silence TV satirists who criticize them, putting pressure on broadcasters to kick those satirizing them off the air. If anything, believing blindly this isn’t suspicious willfully ignores how this has been a part of the autocrat’s playbook for years. Trump and many members of his administration have shown they don’t revere the First Amendment that gives Colbert the right to hold them accountable through comedy and commentary. It is not assigning him superpowers.

After they paid trump's extortion, their credibility isn't all that high. This is a coincidence to be very skeptical of. Worse, trump is all over social media celebrating.

40 years ago yesterday (at the time of this post)... June 17th, 1985 at 3:00 p.m. ET:

I think it was Matt Belloni at Puck that pointed out Lorne Michaels is a producer on both Tonight show and Late Night…he still has a lot of power at NBC. I wouldn’t be surprised if NBC wanted to axe Late Night but Lorne pulled some strings and got it renewed with a reduced budget. Wasn’t Seth pulling in lower ratings than After Midnight? And after Midnight was canceled.

The swap was mainly because WSJV is the ATSC 3.0 lighthouse in South Bend (their pet project, of course, with their 1.0 subs spread across WSBT, WHME and even WNIT) and they transmit from the WSBT tower, so they pulled the swap since SInclair doesn't have a sister station in Peoria and FAIAP WEEK had been controlling WHOI anyways. I was surprised when I read it myself a few weeks back. And WSJV does carry SBT2/Fox in 3.0 format so you are correct in a roundabout way that it did come back home. ----- Meanwhile an update on the WTMJ meteorologist situation; Tyler Moore posted that he is leaving the industry because of exhaustion (on a self-described in-market 'dream job', so you have to wonder how much pressure Scripps/station management puts on their young hires); And because of that, Michael Fish is back on a freelance basis.

https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/media/cbs-ending-the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-is-more-than-just-a-financial-loss/ $40-$50 milllion loss because it couldn't get advertisers Brutal It had 239K demo viewers in January, and 194K for June 2025 750K in 2018 692K in 2019 373K in 2022 280K in 2023 281K in 2024 219K in 2025 so far Basically an irrelevant "show" a cheesy Scrippscast has younger audience that this mess. And he allegedly asked for $25 million... . Colbert isn't quite Ellen toxic but up there "The plan is to enhance CBS Sports" as much money to sports, what's left goes to filler like 3D sets to avoid dead air. maybe they can try iPad giveaways

Yes but has continually been maintained. Comcast/UniversalNBC bought most of the floors NBC and NBCUniversal occupy (the remaining floors are owned by a real estate firm) and have received many city benefits to maintain the upkeep and upgrades as needed. Because of the building's landmark status, it cannot be left to go to crap, and all changes NBC makes are reviewed and approved. This includes the changes made to house both WNBC and T47 in Studio 3B, as well as their new high tech newsroom on the 2nd floor. Although some studios occupy old radio studio footprints, the building is a far cry from the original look or even when converted for mostly tv broadcasting in the 40s. It helps it was originally built as a broadcast facility, as compared to CBS whose facility was a dairy. Today, most NBCU east coast operations are at 30 Rock, the exceptions being NBC Sports (Stamford) and pre spinoff CNBC in Englewood Cliffs (which serves as soon to be Versant cable channels transmission hub) now that T47 has been relocated to 30 Rock.

Isn't 30 Rock also old and needs constant upkeep and upgrades?

I'm actually impressed they (whoever had the idea) actually convinced management to do this. I have heard of several situations where the weather team (particularly the chief) has complained about green screen placement in relation to the rest of the weather cent, have asked for it to be moved (either after or during set construction), and are told no.

Reading that, it makes sense now why Seth's Tuesday show is more 'evergreen' with no new "A Closer Look", with it taping two shows on Monday; I was curious as to why they upload the full A-block on that day and not other days to YouTube. (Yes, I'm part of the problem in that I consume the show there rather than on DVR, but I also hope that Peacock eventually fulfills their promise to have NBC's late night at 9pm ET, which they got talked out of by people who don't look so smart five years later) It also helps that NBC owns 30 Rock and knows every part of the building inside and out, while the Sullivan, despite all the work done over the years, is still an old adapted theater building that needs constant upkeep, along with a full office building above it that isn't much better. I've also noticed many fewer musical guests on late night, and many more of them have adapted the COVID era allowance of taping them elsewhere on location just because that reduces a lot of union expense to set up the stage for one performance (CBS used to do "Live on Letterman" extended performances, but that died with his version). Really, The Talk cancellation was the first sign of distress for CBS; they could've easily just added even more sponsored content to keep the show profitable but knew it would turn off viewers, and by the end its guest base was pretty much down to whoever they could get from CBS prime time on a taping dark day. And there was no way The Gates would work being taped in California thanks to Georgia's tax credits alone. If we're just looking at CBS's real estate, they have by far the oldest and most depreciated portfolio of studios and facilities; 30 Rock may be old, but it has a solid foundation and walls to work around, and the Iger building is basically a reset and clean slate for ABC. Even with the cost savings of switching every light to LED, that building still has an old fridge of an AC and is expensive to heat and cool, and despite the timing of the announcement, I think they just knew the economics of the show just can't work any more when you've gone from cars, P&G and films as your biggest advertisers to...Prevagen, Iberogast, and other various snake oil, along with legit prescription drug ads that will make anyone under 40 flee for YouTube and Netflix.

I doubt CBS' stake in 'Beyond the Gates' is a huge one. They have two other partners (Procter and NAACP), one of which has a very long history when it comes to soaps. I'm sure each party ran every scenario possible to make the financials work. I'm going to avoid going down the rabbit hole about the cancellation of 'The Late Show..' and suggest that CBS could tryout a 'Daytime at Nighttime' situation next Summer as a trial run and 'if' it works, it will become permanent. I can't see them giving the time slot(s) back to the affiliates if the risk vs reward, if you will, is minimal (i.e.. money can be made).

As of today Rincon Broadcasting has officially acquired the 7 stations from Imagicomm.

The start of something BADASS for KCNC. Around the time KCNC's parent company, GE, acquired NBC—of which Channel 4 was affiliated—KCNC became an NBC-owned station and, notably, the first TV station in Colorado to be owned by a major network. This transformation was marked by two initial news theme packages featuring the "This is Colorado" motif: Image IV (for First News at 4:30 p.m.) and Image V (NewsCenter 4 at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.). A key aspect of this launch was the accompanying promotional campaign, which included KCNC announcer Suzy Nelson singing during the promo—definitely a bonus! KCNC fully embraced the partnership and collaboration with Denver-based Jerome Gilmer, even after NBC sold KCNC to CBS in 1995. The news packages featured the KCNC 'This is Colorado' music logo. One specific package from 1993, titled Image IX - Altitude, included the NBC chimes, which was fitting since KCNC was nearing the end of its tenure as an NBC-owned affiliate. However in 2003, KCNC had to discontinue its relationship with Gilmer to comply with the CBS O&O Mandate regarding music packages and logos. CBS required KCNC to use CBS O&O news themes, starting with the Newstime package from 615 Music, alongside its sister stations KCBS in Los Angeles and WBZ in Boston. Subsequently, KCNC began using the "Enforcer" theme by Frank Gari.

ABC and CBS had cited production expenses, despite budget cuts done in preceding years, compared to falling ad revenue for their spate of soap cancellations between 2009 and 2011. All My Children relocated from New York to Los Angeles in a bid to lower costs and it still got the axe two years after the move. Again, even though soaps cost more to produce than a game show, it didn’t stop CBS from greenlighting Beyond the Gates, which still relies on union actors and production staff despite being filmed in Georgia (a right-to-work state with a production tax credit program). The Bold and the Beautiful (which is helped by its global distribution) does occasional international shoots, long after soaps cut on-location shoots to keep production expenses manageable.

No. It is said that viewers hated Dan Rather's Texas vernacular and his signoff but not enough to tune out. He was #1 from 81-89 I believe. Then ABC brought Peter Jenings and he took the lead, #1 from 1989 until '96 when Brokaw started placing first. Whatever issues legacy media has are all self-inflicted. I'm a bit of a Maurice DuBois fanboy but I find the new format appealing. He and John Dickerson come off solid. Hasn't made me watch because I no longer care but what little I've seen, I liked. It didn't make me want to tune out

In 1948. PBS does nothing that people care about. Here in North Carolina PBS has ~90,000 donors 90,000 ... across 12 broadcast stations, out of 11,000,000 population! A literal statistical insignificance. Goofy UFO podcasts have more supporters than that. South Florida PBS barely over 40,000 donors. In area where the average dinner for two can run $200+ People do not care. They say they care because Trump is slipping through their Xanax half-life and they want more social likes but they really don't. They care in the same way Baptists insist they absolutely, unequivically go to church every Sunday. Which is to say they lie. Besides, the local retirement community now has Netflix and BritBox.

correct. It’s just a timing issue. If they need to gain back a few seconds or have a packed show, the talent open gets cut. not a vacation thing. Aired again tonight even with both Sade and Mike off.

Dan Rather survived being paired with Connie and the major affiliate defections even while being in third place the whole time. Since Rathergate, they've changed anchors more that I change my socks.

Didn’t the CBS Evening News‘s ratings struggles begin during the Rather-Chung era, though?

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/david-ellison-fcc-chairman-paramount-skydance-deal-1236319811/

LateNighter’s Bill Carter pointed out that CBS has canceled a show due to political pressure before (back in the 1960s) and notes that NBC had taken cost-cutting measures at The Tonight Show and Late Night over the past year that CBS didn’t even consider: Considering the abuses of power during this administration, it isn’t a “sky is falling” situation. There’s genuine concern (and they’ve given plenty of reason for us to believe) Trump and company are undermining American democracy and trying to consolidate power (some actions being a matter of seeing how much they can get away with, and the Supreme Court now rubberstamping a lot of Trump’s actions on dubious legal grounds, whereas they were a bit of a mixed bag during his first term, and weakening lower courts’ ability to fully check his unconstitutional actions). Authoritarianism is not simply arresting and murdering political opponents and shutting down legislatures, it can take root through other forms of abuses including, but not limited to, pressuring media outlets to self-censor.

That linear television was withering and that this has appeasing the cretin in the White House with or without a direct quid pro quo are not mutually exclusive, nor automatically dismissed as conspiracy theories. We need only look at what’s happened the past approximately 6 months for ample evidence of acquiescence when only the faintest suggestion that being on the wrong side of those in power is a very bad idea. It’s also not limited to broadcasting. We have all seen with our own, not-conspiracy-tainted eyes what happens when they decide to target a person or entity. That chilling effect has been more than enough to achieve their goals. It is autocracy. Perhaps a uniquely “American” version of it, but calling it what it is does not equate to being a crackpot conspiracy theorist.

Which is hardly unexpected. It's almost as if this is being done to manipulate sentiment on the left side of the aisle. Look, I'm going to say my peace here. I'm highly, highly distressed seeing people fall for conspiracy theories on here and on RadioDiscussions over the past few days. I've personally been in contact with @Weeters about this behavior on social media and it legitimately sounds like the left is falling for the exact same "this is autocracy and Trump is consolidating power" like it's an endless Sarah Kenzidor thread from 2016. There's also people continuing to amplify the falsehood that the election was rigged or that the shooting in PA last July was fully staged. Absolutely scary stuff. Everything is not okay. Loathsome, slimy vermin are indeed at the controls. But it is also not okay to not have any semblance of perspective. And linear media was dying long before November 2024 and Paramount Global was dying under Shari Redstone and I will die on those two hills. It's not autocracy but talk that that plays right into the hands of the aforementioned vermin.

Here's a KNBC promo that features Seinfeld's co-star Michael "Kramer" Richards (at the 0:37 mark) and all the other NBC stars: Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap, Kevin Nealon from SNL with Jess Marlow, Alan Rachins of LA Law. It wasn't We're 4 LA, yet. There was a slogan If it Happens Here, it Happens on 4.

It was just a riff on the previous post

The statement CBS made was pretty clear that they aren't going to produce a replacement talk show.

If anyone thinks this has nothing to do with Paramount/Skydance capitulating to 47, then I have some proverbial oceanfront property in Montana for you all to buy. The timing is all too coincidental. Don't be surprised if The Daily Show folds next.

Watch as they replace it with Funny You Should Ask reruns (and that is actually believable for this regime, sadly). I really haven't watched Colbert as much because it's day after day of political jokes and his guest base has deteriorated that way too (it doesn't help that Paramount somehow has film franchises and stars that will not do press), but it's still an awful loss. But like everything Paramount has been selling real estate-wise, they probably want to sell off the Sullivan like they did Television City, and you're not going to get Colbert in a Last Week Tonight-esque space at the Television Center, so they just decided to cut it off entirely. At least the Sullivan will have a glowing Broadway future in new hands. I'm starting to fear that CBS will no longer be what it was by 2029 and that we'll be seeing the new management either go full in on the NFL, or just give up and run procedurals and reality into the ground, and they're the answer to the question 'which network dies first'.

I just hope, since the franchise is ending entirely, that Colbert has Letterman back one last time to help close out the brand he built. Also got to wonder what happens to the Ed Sullivan Theater... Surely CBS sees a nice payday on the sale of the building (at least, I assume they own it outright?)

I just got the notification from AP. What a shame. Colbert is the only late night host I still enjoy watching, other than Jon Stewart.

But we’re not in danger of authoritarianism, right? This. Is. Vile.

(as in will not produce a replacement talk show at 11:35) https://deadline.com/2025/07/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-ending-next-year-cbs-1236461787/ https://www.instagram.com/p/DMOhWKsxT_G/

The Great Media Knee Bending of 2025 continues. Pathetic.

WEWS has launched this package today.

Gee, I never saw that one coming . Once upon a time, going from WSYX to 10TV was a move up.... My how times have changed....

It may not be what people want to hear, but it is the truth: Byron Allen's hubris and utter incompetence destroyed the value of these stations. Whomever would buy them would have to sink embarrassingly large amounts of money just to get them back up to par with their competition. How is that not damaged goods? This FCC will simply let it happen thanks to kickbacks and bribes to Brendan Carr and Olivia Trusty. And you think Perry Sook has ever cared about the viewers? His greed and lust for power makes R.J. Fletcher look scrupled. The Tribune purchase handcuffed them regulation-wise. It is no secret that Nexstar wants to buy the CBS owned-stations, Gray and Cox Media and even put out a press release stating they openly covet the ABC-owned stations.

Some awesome finds (not specifically newscasts) finally uploaded from an estate sale two years ago. KREM Northwest Gallery, February 18th, 1979. This was a newsmagazine that aired on Sunday nights And CLASSIC 60 Minutes!!!

As a longtime resident of Greenville and the Mississippi Delta, I can't help but feel a sense of disappointment over the frequent changes in ownership and the glaring lack of investment in our local television stations. Cox and even Imagicomm, as current owners, have not lived up to their responsibilities. It’s disheartening to think that an area struggling with economic challenges—one of the poorest in the nation—is served by station owners who seem indifferent to the needs of the community. The dedicated viewers and hardworking staff at these stations unquestionably deserve far better than what they currently receive. This mounting situation underscores the urgent need for a collaborative effort to rejuvenate our local media landscape. Our station, WABG, has the potential to shine; it simply requires modernization and owners who genuinely care about nurturing this small television market. Historically, the Delta's stations have lagged, often equipped with outdated technology that places them years behind other television markets across the state. If WABG could attain even half the production quality demonstrated by WLBT or KTVE, our community would feel far more satisfied and engaged with the local news coverage. It genuinely pains me to hear fellow community members express their disillusionment, many stating they no longer tune into our local news broadcasts and instead turn to sources from Jackson or Little Rock. The disconnect is palpable, and we must take steps to rekindle pride in our local news.

As we approach the 25th Anniversary of this classic show, here's 106 & Park's 9/11 reaction episode (2001)

The early days of cable TV...WTCG/Atlanta. Promos and station IDs from 1979, just prior to becoming WTBS:

It wasn’t a Pannoni channel but I cannot remember it for the life of me. All of a sudden I had a bunch of gray boxes on my YT favorites on my TV. I’ll find it and edit this.