CBS Ending Late Show after 2025-26 Season

[tyrannical bastard 4676]

If CBS wasn't dead to me before this, I just hope and pray his second term ends before this happens.

[Rusty Muck 4688]

I’m going to be That Guy that is saying this has more to do with CBS dying on the vine than anything else. Giving Trump any credit for the cancellation of The Late Show completely and unnecessarily absolves Shari Redstone of blame for her mismanagement of Paramount Global and CBS, let alone her utter incompetence in trying to sell it all off. 
 

CBS was in awful shape prior to this. The cracks were showing during the SAG-AFTRA strike and were never repaired. Honestly I wonder if CBS even survives or just fades into oblivion like Dumont 70 years ago.

[HanSolo 467]

Whether the guy with the vein issue and cognitive decline directly demanded this isn’t the issue. It’s one more in an endless set of preemptive conformity by his allies and those who have or may have business before one of his crony-led agencies. This was a targeted hit that they’re wrapping in nonsense. 

[HanSolo 467]

2 hours ago, carolinanews4 said:

According to a statement by CBS it is a financial decision.

Sure it was. And I chose not to be considered for People’s Sexiest Man Alive. Heck, that might be more plausible than buying anything CBS is pushing here. 

 

[mre29 1967]

Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot.

 

So, Oliver Darcy was the first to report that Colbert and Jon Stewart/The Daily Show could both be canceled. (Darcy's post is paywalled, but I saw a post about it on LateNighter.) Here's Darcy himself quoting his post on Bluesky:

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, HanSolo said:

With the constant bending of the knee, probably hiring Gutfeld or whatever his name is from Fox.

 

Or Byron Allen, who's already getting the 12:37pm slot for more repeats of years-old episodes of Comics Unleashed.

 

 

5 minutes ago, Rusty Muck said:

I’m going to be That Guy that is saying this has more to do with CBS dying on the vine than anything else. Giving Trump any credit for the cancellation of The Late Show completely and unnecessarily absolves Shari Redstone of blame for her mismanagement of Paramount Global and CBS, let alone her utter incompetence in trying to sell it all off. 

 

I disagree. One can suspect (or even assume) that this move was to appease Trump and still hold Redstone to blame for her mismanagement. Also, as far as I'm concerned, the burden is on Paramount/CBS to prove the cancellation isn't politically-motivated. If I was a shareholder, I'd be asking a lot of questions, and I hope current shareholders do just that.

 

And then they can ask why none of the dead-weight cable channels are being shut down.

 

 

[tyrannical bastard 4676]

At this point in time, Paramount (as well as Warner Brothers) are better off dead than alive.  Get their past assets in someone else's hands.

 

Stephen Colbert is the ONLY reason I have left to watch CBS.  He'll likely end up elsewhere.  Probably on streaming like Netflix since I doubt NBCUniversal or Disney/ABC are interested.

 

I guess I can live with Jimmy Kimmel..

But there's no way I'm watching Fallon.

[24994J 5888]

Hey, from a housekeeping standpoint for the mod staff, some users need to do better and actually look to make sure there isn't already a thread for a certain topic before posting their own. Just had to merge four threads into one on this news. Too many frustrated, aspiring journalists around here that are too focused on being first on stuff.

 

End of rant.

 

2 hours ago, Rusty Muck said:

I’m going to be That Guy that is saying this has more to do with CBS dying on the vine than anything else. Giving Trump any credit for the cancellation of The Late Show completely and unnecessarily absolves Shari Redstone of blame for her mismanagement of Paramount Global and CBS, let alone her utter incompetence in trying to sell it all off. 
 

CBS was in awful shape prior to this. The cracks were showing during the SAG-AFTRA strike and were never repaired. Honestly I wonder if CBS even survives or just fades into oblivion like Dumont 70 years ago.

 

Then cancel everything else, too. 60 Minutes, the Evening News, The Price is Right, and the Late Show are the absolute last things that should be touched, if you're trying to look competent and inspire confidence. I'm not giving Trump credit, but there is a very obvious message being sent here. Either that, or you might start seeing other top talent walking across the network before they get told they can't get paid.

Edited July 18, 2025 by 24994J

[Rusty Muck 4688]

23 minutes ago, mre29 said:

I disagree. One can suspect (or even assume) that this move was to appease Trump and still hold Redstone to blame for her mismanagement. Also, as far as I'm concerned, the burden is on Paramount/CBS to prove the cancellation isn't politically-motivated. If I was a shareholder, I'd be asking a lot of questions, and I hope current shareholders do just that.

How long has Shari been trying to get rid of Paramount Global? Three years? Of course she’s desperate and would stoop to nothing. It also discounts hard core realities with linear television.

36 minutes ago, HanSolo said:

Whether the guy with the vein issue and cognitive decline directly demanded this isn’t the issue. It’s one more in an endless set of preemptive conformity by his allies and those who have or may have business before one of his crony-led agencies. This was a targeted hit that they’re wrapping in nonsense. 

Because Shari was desperate and incompetent. It only serves to destroy the brand value of CBS.

[MorningNews 1711]

3 hours ago, carolinanews4 said:

According to a statement by CBS it is a financial decision. It is quite the surprise. But then again, it shouldn’t be surprising at all. CBS has big money problems, and undoubtedly they are under pressure to shore things up before Skydance takes over. Also, it is easier for an outgoing regime to make unpopular decisions before  the new crew comes in. 
 

https://deadline.com/2025/07/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert-ending-next-year-cbs-1236461787/

It’s disingenuous to act like this was a financial decision while being the #1 late night talker at a struggling network. It would take ignoring all of the other developments preceding this move to be believable.

[Rusty Muck 4688]

3 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

It’s disingenuous to act like this was a financial decision while being the #1 late night talker at a struggling network. It would take ignoring all of the other developments preceding this move to be believable.

Fred Silverman almost replaced Johnny Carson with McLean Stevenson. It’s not unprecedented.

[Weeters 2173]

2 hours ago, TheRolyPoly said:

 

CBS affiliates are replacing it with local news at 11:35 p.m. in three, two, one...

No! This is not what needs to happen, at all. This is how we're going to end up with more "Shovelcasts" (this is a new term I just invented, you're welcome) like Scrippscast being shoved into the schedule. Nobody is asking for more news, period, and any 11:30 newscasts that get created in summer 2026 are going to be canceled by November 4th of that year.

 

Folks, we're talking about a genre that used to have 15 million sets of eyeballs a night. Colbert's "most watched" status is 16% of Carson's audience. Any profit the show makes is likely sliding every year, and it would not surprise me at all if the bean counters determined it would slide into "unprofitable" territory during his next contract. The Internet is the one holding the smoking gun here.

 

[Rusty Muck 4688]

Here’s what happened, in image form:

Easy prediction: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will be lobbied hard by the streaming platforms, and wherever they go, they’ll get way better numbers than they ever have on linear media. If this was a so-called “hit job” by Trump it honestly missed the mark, and badly so.

[Hometown News 127]

1 hour ago, mre29 said:

I disagree. One can suspect (or even assume) that this move was to appease Trump and still hold Redstone to blame for her mismanagement. Also, as far as I'm concerned, the burden is on Paramount/CBS to prove the cancellation isn't politically-motivated. If I was a shareholder, I'd be asking a lot of questions, and I hope current shareholders do just that.

 

Of course it's financial. Letterman's final Late Show episode got nearly 14 million viewers. A decade later, the Late Show has an audience of just over 2 million boomers who forgot to turn the TV off before falling asleep. It's not worth paying Colbert $15 million a year on top of the staff's salaries and the costs of maintaining that theater anymore, especially when its spot in the cultural milieu is now occupied by podcasts with postage-stamp budgets by comparison.

 

Not to mention, this isn't new for CBS. This is the same network that was already too cheap to keep the SEC or the Grammys. They are cutting costs to the bone in any way they can.

 

Not everything in life is hyper-politicized. Sometimes it actually is just about the money.

[MediaZone4K 2661]

The franchise that David Letterman built is getting cancelled! As shaky as Late Night ratings have been I thought the cancellation of one of its mainstay shows was coming in a few years not next  year!

 

Then again, after Corden left Late Late it came out that production costs exceeded revenue which makes The Late Show's cancellation for business reasons believable....but bending to 45/47 is not implausible. 

1 hour ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Stephen Colbert is the ONLY reason I have left to watch CBS.  He'll likely end up elsewhere.  Probably on streaming like Netflix since I doubt NBCUniversal or Disney/ABC are interested.

 

I guess I can live with Jimmy Kimmel..

But there's no way I'm watching Fallon.

I like Colbert but like Kimmel it's the same thing every night, Trump, for the last 10 years. It got stale which is why I prefer Fallon's show. He'll talk about you know whom and then move on to fun segments.

 

Of all the networks why is CBS specifically struggling so much when it was once the most watched network?

Edited July 18, 2025 by MediaZone4K

[mre29 1967]

2 hours ago, 24994J said:

Hey, from a housekeeping standpoint for the mod staff, some users need to do better and actually look to make sure there isn't already a thread for a certain topic before posting their own. Just had to merge four threads into one on this news.

 

Thank you.

 

2 hours ago, 24994J said:

Then cancel everything else, too. 60 Minutes, the Evening News, The Price is Right, and the Late Show are the absolute last things that should be touched. I'm not giving Trump credit, but there is a very obvious message being sent here.

 

What should be canceled first are some of the useless cable channels Paramount owns that are likely watched by very few people. I mean, is there any real demand for The Movie Channel Xtra? I didn't think so.

 

 

3 hours ago, Rusty Muck said:

How long has Shari been trying to get rid of Paramount Global? Three years? Of course she’s desperate and would stoop to nothing. It also discounts hard core realities with linear television.

 

There's enough blame for both her and Trump. It's not an either/or situation.

 

 

[nomadcowatbk 188]

7 hours ago, GodfreyGR said:

 

 

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?)

Spirit Halloween?

[nomadcowatbk 188]

How will they try lowball the NFL again when the AFC package is up for renewal? 

[Rusty Muck 4688]

4 hours ago, mre29 said:

What should be canceled first are some of the useless cable channels Paramount owns that are likely watched by very few people. I mean, is there any real demand for The Movie Channel Xtra? I didn't think so.

Those channels (even totally dead channels like MTV and VH1) have no budget or payroll and thus still turn enough of a profit especially with retransmission revenue drying up. Same reason why a clunker like NewsNation still exists despite nonexistent ratings; the overhead is small enough that Nexstar still makes a profit and thus justifies the channel’s existence.

 

4 hours ago, mre29 said:

There's enough blame for both her and Trump. It's not an either/or situation.

Blame can be assigned by a 9:1 ratio. It’s almost entirely Shari’s fault; Trump simply gave the final nudge. Anything else is revisionist history.

 

Look, anyone who knows me knows that I revile and despise that man, his supporters and his rubber stamp drones like Carr and Trusty. But cancelling the Late Show was in truth a long time coming. Corden getting yeeted and Seth Meyers losing his house band both happened prior to last November and were legitimate warning signs. As was The Daily Show being unable to find a replacement for Trevor Noah before coaxing Jon Stewart out of retirement.

Edited July 18, 2025 by Rusty Muck

[MediaZone4K 2661]

Two things can be true at once. Perhaps the Late Show was already on numbered days, and now the Trump lawsuit pushed Paramount to finally pull the plug.

Edited July 18, 2025 by MediaZone4K

[tyrannical bastard 4676]

CBS is in such a terrible state right now maybe bringing Jeff Zucker back may be a good thing....

 

And that's after seeing what he did to NBC and CNN....

[Rusty Muck 4688]

37 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

CBS is in such a terrible state right now maybe bringing Jeff Zucker back may be a good thing....

 

And that's after seeing what he did to NBC and CNN....

That's inviting Dr. Kevorkian to preside over the funeral.

[Rusty Muck 4688]

I guess this was inevitable. Facts about the declining asset that is late night don't matter when you can spin it as "the show was solely cancelled at the behest of Trump".

 

https://www.thewrap.com/stephen-colbert-late-show-cancellation-reactions-adam-schiff-elizabeth-warren/

[Rusty Muck 4688]

Meanwhile someone close to The Late Show told Brian Stelter that the show was already starting to lose money due to "plunging ad revenue". Which is the actual story here. There's a likely chance it would have continued in a different political climate, downscaled significantly, or moved to Paramount+ but the tourniquet was used instead.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/media/cbs-cancels-stephen-colbert

Edited July 18, 2025 by Rusty Muck

[Glimmer 340]

WCBS’s report on the cancellation and it sounds like even they’re not buying it:

 

 

[tyrannical bastard 4676]

It is somewhat gratifying to see the once Tiffany Network fall into the Temu network at the behest of Sharon Redstone and this administration's blackmail.

 

If CBS is still around in a few years, and they think it's worth gouging their affiliates, you're going to see some more affiliate defections.

 

Think back to when the RTN/RTV network was handed over to Charlie Luken during Equity's bankruptcy.  As soon as they ended their deal carrying NBCUniversal's library, their affiliate base dropped like flies while Weigel was sweeping the country with MeTV offering a vastly superior product.