The media world is still buzzing about the surprising, but not stunning, decision by CBS to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The show will end next May and will not be replaced. The announcement came just days after Colbert slammed Paramount, the owners of CBS, for settling its lawsuit with Trump, calling it a “big, fat bribe.”
So the question now is: Did CBS cancel the show because of politics, or did they cancel it because late-night talk shows just don’t make sense financially anymore?
Maybe the answer is a little of both.
There’s no question that the timing of the announcement is curious. Not only did it come days after Colbert’s criticism, but Paramount is still in the midst of being sold to Skydance — a transaction that still needs approval from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission.
In a Substack column, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans wrote, “Why announce the May cancellation right now – when Colbert has 10 months to lambaste the network and use his current show to position himself for a post-CBS future? Why not try to work out a way to do the show cheaper? Or at least figure how to keep Colbert from going to a competing media company after The Late Show ends? CBS has spent 10 years building up Colbert as the comedy face of its network – walking away from that in the space of a few days seems short sighted and unnecessarily abrupt.”
He added, “Unless, of course, Paramount is also trying to appease the Trump administration to get much-needed federal approvals for its sale to Skydance Media.”
CBS insists that the decision was purely financial. There are reports that seem to back up that claim.
The New York Times’ John Koblin reported, “‘The Late Show,’ a fixture of the network for over three decades, was racking up losses of tens of millions of dollars a year, and the gap was growing fast, according to two people familiar with the show’s finances. Like other late-night shows before it, ‘The Late Show’ was canceled when the network could not figure how to make the finances work in an entertainment world increasingly dominated by streaming.”
Koblin added, “The cancellation underscores just how rapidly the late-night genre has fallen. Not even ‘The Late Show,’ the highest rated of those network talk shows, was safe, as many in the entertainment industry assumed it was.”
CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote, “CBS insiders insist, even when speaking frankly on condition of anonymity, that the move was financially driven, not politically motivated.”
But, he added, “Many observers have huge doubts about that, given that Colbert has been an outspoken critic of President Trump.”
Whether it was financial or not, the timing did seem troubling. Deggans wrote, “There are lots of sound financial reasons why media owners might want to walk away from late night TV shows in general — viewership is down and ad revenues are shrinking as audiences turn from traditional broadcast and cable to streaming services. But shuttering late night shows at a time when such decisions look like suppressing important speech will bring long lasting damage. And it also throws away a genre which has fed a huge chunk of the American comedy system.”
The Washington Post’s Emily Yahr and Geoff Edgers reported that the White House did not pressure Paramount to get rid of Colbert. “It was a pleasant surprise,” a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Post.
Of course, that didn’t stop Trump from celebrating. He posted on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert! Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
Did Trump directly or indirectly get Colbert fired? The answer might not even matter. Just the appearance that politics played a role in Colbert’s cancellation is troubling. And you hope this doesn’t now deter other late-night hosts and various satirical columnists and commentators from toning down their sharp criticisms of those in power.
As Deggans wrote, “At this moment, I think it’s important for audiences which care about this kind of commentary to keep supporting the satirists, columnists and pundits who create this work – even when those people are stuck working for leaders and companies not taking similar stands. Sad as I am to see Colbert lose his platform, I’m eager to see what he does next. And hope his fans don’t lose hope and choose to follow him wherever his creative spirit takes him next. Because in a time of political turmoil, it is the satirists and ethical columnists who can help people process what’s happening and decide how they really feel.”
What’s next?
So, what is next for Colbert?
Well, for starters, his show is still on for another 10 months, which gives him 10 months to continue to take jabs at not only Trump, but the folks that own CBS.
After that? Well, there is life after being a late-night host, as David Letterman and Conan O’Brien have shown. Letterman, who left late-night on his own terms, has a talk show on Netflix. O’Brien has a popular podcast.
As The New York Times’ Jason Zinoman pointed out, O’Brien became a “folk hero” after NBC took away his time slot. Colbert could end up riding a similar wave of a well-respected host who had his show taken away because of both corporate and actual politics.
Look over there
As the Epstein stories continue to swirl around Trump, it’s no surprise that he has thrown a distraction or two out there. You know, a story or two to get people talking about something else.
Perhaps that was his reasoning for writing a Truth Social post saying the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians should change back to their previous nicknames. Those nicknames — the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians — were changed because many found them offensive.
He later had another post threatening the Commanders, saying, “I won’t make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be exciting for everyone.” He also wrote about Guardians owner “Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change.”
Matt Dolan’s brother, Paul, is the main owner and CEO of the Guardians. Matt owns a partial stake. He ran for the U.S. Senate in Ohio in 2022 and 2024, but lost in the Republican primaries.
When asked Sunday about Trump’s posts, Cleveland Guardians president Chris Antonetti said, “Not something I’m tracking or paying a lot of attention to, but I would say generally, I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago. But it’s a decision we made and we’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we’re excited about the future that’s in front of us.”
In other words, they aren’t changing their names because Trump said so. The Commanders have not responded, but Josh Harris, the managing partner of the group that bought the Commanders in 2023, has said the team would never go back to its old nickname.
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