What Killed 'The Late Show'?

Summary

The Journal: What Killed 'The Late Show'? – July 25, 2025

Hosted by Ryan Knutson and Jessica Mendoza, The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal, delving into the most important stories about money, business, and power. In this episode, titled "What Killed 'The Late Show'?", the hosts explore the factors leading to the cancellation of Stephen Colbert's Late Show.

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1. The Unexpected Cancellation Announcement

The episode opens with the shocking news that CBS has decided to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, effective May 2026. Host Andi Minaugh introduces the topic with the words:

"Last week, fans of late night television got some bad news." [00:05]

Stephen Colbert himself announced the cancellation to his audience, revealing:

"Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending." [00:09]

Joe Flint, a media correspondent, elaborates:

"Stephen Colbert announced to his audience that his show would be ending when his contract expires next May, May of 2026... And he basically said, I'm right there with you. And he said all this is going away. Meaning the late night business." [00:27]

Colbert emphasized that this decision wasn't about replacing him with a cheaper alternative but rather CBS exiting the late-night arena entirely:

"I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away." [00:46]

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2. Financial Struggles of Late-Night Television

CBS cited financial reasons for the cancellation, a sentiment supported by Joe Flint:

"We've been hearing for a long time about the challenges in late night television. Audiences are smaller, ad revenue is down... So it's not like we're ending the Colbert show to go with a cheaper option. We're just done with late night TV." [01:07]

Flint highlighted that despite The Late Show being the top-rated late-night program, it was still losing approximately $40 million annually. The decline in ad revenue and the migration of advertisers to more targeted and cost-effective platforms like podcasts significantly impacted profitability.

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3. Evolution and Decline of Late-Night TV

The hosts trace the rich history of late-night television, starting from NBC's Tonight Starring Steve Allen in the 1950s to Johnny Carson's iconic tenure in the 1960s. Carson was revered as the "king of late night," setting the standard for future hosts. Flint reminisces:

"When Johnny Carson was on, you know, of all the TVs that would have been on at 11:30, probably, you know, half of them were tuned into him, if not more." [05:55]

However, the landscape has drastically changed. The proliferation of content platforms has fragmented audiences, making it challenging for traditional late-night shows to maintain their once-dominant viewership.

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4. The Rise of Digital Platforms and Changing Viewing Habits

A significant factor in the decline of late-night TV is the explosion of digital content. Joe Flint explains:

"It's grown so much. I mean, late night is having the same challenges all media are having. Technology has changed and created a lot more viewing options." [17:18]

Services like YouTube have become the most-watched video providers on American television, surpassing giants like Disney and Netflix. Content on these platforms often mirrors the format of traditional late-night shows, offering interviews, stunts, and interactive segments that attract younger, more diverse audiences.

Examples include:

• YouTube Clips: Shortened segments that are easily shareable and consumeable.
• Podcast-Style Shows: Intimate conversations and discussions that cater to niche interests.
• Innovative Formats: Shows like Hot Ones, where celebrities answer questions while eating increasingly spicy wings.

Flint notes that advertisers have followed viewers to these new platforms, leading to a steep decline in ad revenue for traditional late-night shows. In 2018, advertisers spent about $440 million on late-night shows across the three major networks, a figure that had halved by 2024.

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5. The Political Dimension and Controversial Timing

While financial issues are the primary driver behind the cancellation, some fans speculate that politics played a role, especially given Colbert's outspoken criticism of figures like former President Donald Trump. Colbert's satirical segments often targeted Trump, which some believe may have influenced CBS's decision.

During his final monologue, Colbert referenced a significant settlement between Paramount and Trump:

"While I was on vacation, my parent corporation, Paramount, paid Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over his 60 Minutes lawsuit." [09:52]

Subsequently, Trump lauded the cancellation:

"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired." [11:14]

Though CBS maintains that the decision was purely financial, the timing and Colbert's political commentary have fueled conspiracy theories about hidden motives behind the show's termination.

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6. The Cultural Impact of Late-Night TV's Decline

The demise of late-night television marks the end of an era where these shows served as a cultural unifier. Joe Flint reflects:

"The bigger picture is it's one more thing that used to kind of unite the country and the culture... Those moments are fewer and fewer in our country as all the audiences become so fragmented." [18:59]

Once a staple for post-bedtime entertainment and daily conversation starters, the reduction of late-night shows diminishes shared cultural experiences that previously connected millions of viewers nationwide.

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7. Attempts to Adapt and Surviving Formats

In response to declining revenues, networks have experimented with reducing the frequency and scale of late-night productions. Many shows now air only Monday through Thursday, and some have made drastic cuts, such as NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers eliminating its live band—a staple of the genre.

However, according to Flint:

"CBS made the call to end the Late show around July 4, days before Colbert criticized Paramount executives had been considering the move for some time... They've done cuts on all these shows, reducing staff and trimming episodes... but it's helping, but not nearly enough." [12:22]

These measures have provided marginal relief but have not been sufficient to reverse the overarching decline of the late-night format.

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Conclusion: The End of an Era

The cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert symbolizes the broader downfall of traditional late-night television. Financial strains, evolving viewer preferences, and the rise of digital content platforms have collectively eroded the foundation upon which these shows were built. As audiences continue to fragment across an ever-expanding array of media options, the future of late-night TV remains uncertain.

Flint poignantly captures the sentiment:

"It's just taking away one more sort of water cooler thing." [18:59]

The end of late-night television not only signals a transformation in entertainment consumption but also reflects deeper shifts in how culture is shared and experienced in the digital age.

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Additional reporting in this episode by Ben Fritz and John Jurgensen.

Transcript

[Andi Minaugh]

Last week, fans of late night television got some bad news.

[Stephen Colbert]

Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending.

[Andi Minaugh]

CBS was canceling the Late show with Stephen Colbert. Our colleague Joe Flint covers the media.

[Joe Flint]

Stephen Colbert announced to his audience that his show would be ending when his contract expires next May, May of 2026. The audience was very, you know, booing and cat calls and not happy about it. And he basically said, I'm right there with you. And he said all this is going away. Meaning the late night business.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, I share your feelings. It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of the Late show on cbs. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away.

[Andi Minaugh]

In a statement, CBS move to cancel the Late show was, quote, purely a financial decision. And Joe says that the finances of late night are tough.

[Joe Flint]

We've been hearing for a long time about the challenges in late night television. Audiences are smaller, ad revenue is down. These are issues affecting a lot of shows. But the idea that the number one rated late night show in Colbert would be just have the plug pulled out and not just him. CBS is getting out of the late night business. So. So it's not like we're ending the Colbert show to go with a cheaper option. We're just done with late night tv. So that was a shocker enough. If that was the news alone, that would be pretty wow. Boom.

[Andi Minaugh]

But some Colbert fans think there's even more to the story. They say that the Late Show's cancellation goes beyond broadcast TV's money troubles and that it's at least partly about politics. Welcome to the Journal, our show about money, business and power. I'm Andi MINNAUGH. It's Friday, July 25th. Coming up on the show, what killed the Late Show.

[Joe Flint]

Foreign.

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[Andi Minaugh]

Are you a late night TV watcher?

[Joe Flint]

I used to be more of a late night TV watcher now. I watch clips on YouTube. I'm an old man. I can't stay up till 11:30 at night anymore.

[Andi Minaugh]

Honestly. Same.

[Joe Flint]

I remember watching Letterman in college. There were four channels, we didn't have cable. You sat in a dorm room and you watched Dave drop a watermelon out a window before you went to bed.

[Stephen Colbert]

We're back again on top of the five story tower, dropping all new stuff, bigger and better than ever. Solid entertainment.

[Andi Minaugh]

How do you define late night tv? Is it a format, is it a time slot? What is it?

[Joe Flint]

Well, certainly we'll start with a time slot. The time slot itself is late night. So, you know, you have NBC, CBS, ABC, they program Primetime from 8 to 11. And then the stations get their local news, which is where stations make their money. And then at 11:35, the late shows begin. From New York City, the National Broadcasting Company presents Tonight starring Steve Allen.

[Andi Minaugh]

Late night as we know it dates back to the 1950s with NBC's Tonight Starring Steve Allen. But it wasn't until the 60s that late night really took off. That's when Johnny Carson took over late night at NBC with the Tonight Show.

[Joe Flint]

And now, ladies and gentlemen, here's Johnny.

[Andi Minaugh]

Carson became known as the king of late night. Thank you very much.

[Joe Flint]

In the old days, what was the show? Well, you had on a movie star with a movie to promote. Come on.

[Stephen Colbert]

Would you welcome Ms. Elizabeth Taylor?

[Joe Flint]

Maybe you had a stand up comedian come out and tell a few jokes, right?

[Andi Minaugh]

Like a Steve Martin.

[Joe Flint]

You want to be like me, A love God. The kind of guy women love to be with on a date. A magician, do some tricks. Someone who does something with animals.

[Stephen Colbert]

She only weighs about 8 or 10 pounds.

[Andi Minaugh]

She weighs about 10 pounds.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's why you said that.

[Joe Flint]

A live band. All these shows had bands. The band members played fiddles, if you will, with the hosts. Yes, and a sidekick, you know. You know, a lot of these shows had sidekicks, lest we forget.

[Stephen Colbert]

You really think you're fooling everybody, don't you?

[Joe Flint]

No, no, no, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

And she also do my best to help you.

[Andi Minaugh]

I know that. How popular were these shows in their heyday? At their peak?

[Joe Flint]

Well, at their peak, I mean, when Johnny Carson was on, you know, of all the TVs that would have been on at 11:30, probably, you know, half of them were tuned into him, if not more.

[Andi Minaugh]

Did they make money? Were the shows profitable?

[Joe Flint]

Oh, yes, yes, these shows were very profitable back in the day for lots of reasons. You had a bigger audience, so you had more ad revenue. The competition was far less so. It was a lot easier to make money when there's only, when there's only three channels, everyone was making money. That was the great thing about network television. You had three things to watch, you were going to watch one of them, and odds are that you would have enough of an audience to make money.

[Andi Minaugh]

Carson eventually handed off the Tonight show to Jay Leno who was then followed by Conan o' Brien and then Jimmy Fallon at cbs. David Letterman headed the Late show for decades before Stephen Colbert took over in 2015. Up to that point, Colbert was best known for his satirical news show on Comedy Central, the Colbert Report.

[Joe Flint]

It was kind of a parody of a conservative talking show, almost like a parody of Bill O'Reilly. Very well done. I mean, he stayed in this character for many, many years doing this show. And it was, you know, brilliant.

[Stephen Colbert]

This program is dedicated to, to you, the heroes. And who are the heroes? The people who watch this show.

[Andi Minaugh]

When Colbert moved over to the Late show, it was an adjustment. For starters, he wouldn't be in character anymore. But more importantly, this was a major network show.

[Joe Flint]

Obviously when you're going to go broad based, you have to really go out of your way to try to reach a bigger audience. So I think when he first came on, he did try to be very broad in interviewing the entertainers and trying to appeal to everyone.

[Andi Minaugh]

Kind of left that Colbert Persona behind and was kind of channeling more of the Johnny Carson, a little bit, a.

[Joe Flint]

Little bit more mainstream and less of what he had done in previous lives for the Colbert Report.

[Andi Minaugh]

And how'd that go?

[Joe Flint]

You know, it didn't resonate with viewers very much. It wasn't connecting, it wasn't clicking. And. And so a decision was made to kind of let Steven be Stephen. Let him be in his sweet spot.

[Andi Minaugh]

Politics.

[Joe Flint]

Politics and commentary and jokes about politicians and the news of the day and bite, biting jokes.

[Stephen Colbert]

I will say, speaking of stupid and Mad Men, Donald Trump.

[Andi Minaugh]

Colbert's turn towards politics was happening in the run up to the 2016 election. And one of his most frequent targets was then candidate Donald Trump. Like in this recurring segment where Colbert interviews a cartoon version of Trump.

[Stephen Colbert]

Now Mr. Cartoon Trump. How do you respond to Anderson Cooper comparing you to a 5 year old?

[Joe Flint]

Anderson Cooper's a dum dum. He's a stupid head, a total poopy pants. It's sad.

[Andi Minaugh]

And over the next decade, Colbert maintained that political tone, often digging into Trump in his monologues.

[Stephen Colbert]

It is day 102 of the Trump presidency. Presidency. One thousand, 358 days to go, but who's counting?

[Andi Minaugh]

How did CBS feel about this leftward political shift? Was it working for them?

[Joe Flint]

Well, I think they were for it. It was working in the sense of the. Certainly the numbers were better for Colbert when he went sort of into his old Persona, if you will. And I don't think they really had a huge problem with it because Lord knows they kept paying him and keeping the show on.

[Andi Minaugh]

Fast forward to last week. That Monday, Colbert took the stage to deliver his opening monologue. He had another joke about Trump.

[Stephen Colbert]

While I was on vacation, my parent corporation, Paramount, paid Donald Trump a $16 million settlement over his 60 Minutes lawsuit.

[Andi Minaugh]

As the Colbert was referencing a lawsuit between President Trump and CBS's parent company, Paramount, during the presidential election. Trump had taken issue with the way CBS's 60 Minutes had edited a Kamala Harris interview and he'd sued Paramount, had just agreed to settle that lawsuit for $16 million.

[Stephen Colbert]

Now, I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's big fat bribe. Because this all comes as Paramount's owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance.

[Andi Minaugh]

In Colbert's telling, that $16 million settlement was a payoff to clear the path for Paramount's merger. The Federal Communications Commission approved that merger yesterday. Just days after Colbert delivered that monologue, he got the news that CBS was canceling the Late Show.

[Joe Flint]

Stephen was told, per my reporting Wednesday night, that his show would be ending when his contract was up. And it was done in the typical Hollywood fashion, which is the network tells Stephen's agent and Stephen's agent gets to tell Stephen.

[Andi Minaugh]

The day after the Late show announcement, Trump posted on social media, quote, I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. To some, the timing of the cancellation looks suspicious. It looked like CBS was trying to get rid of one of the President's most vocal critics. This week, Colbert addressed the controversy on his show.

[Stephen Colbert]

Some people see this show going away as a sign of something truly dire. And while I am a big fan of me, I don't, I don't necessarily agree with that statement because we here at the Late show never saw our job as changing anything other than how you felt at the end of the day, which I think is a worthy goal.

[Andi Minaugh]

What has CBS said about why it decided to do this? What's their explanation?

[Joe Flint]

CBS has said this is strictly a financial decision, that it had nothing to do with the show's performance or its content. This had nothing to do with anything Stephen has said about CBS and its settlement or to do with getting the deal closed, now they've said all that. That doesn't mean that the general public is buying it.

[Andi Minaugh]

According to Joe's reporting, CBS made the call to end the Late show around July 4, days before Colbert criticized Paramount executives had been considering the move for some time. A person familiar with the show's budget told Joe that despite being the top rated show on late night, the Late show loses about $40 million a year. So why is the Late show so in the red? That's after the in the early days of late night, TV viewers had just three networks they could tune into. Today, the entertainment options are seemingly infinite. And that hasn't been great for late night ratings.

[Joe Flint]

Really. For the past 15, 20 years, late night has been in a decline. However, it's really sped up in the last, say, five or six years. A combination of the pandemic throwing everyone's viewing habits topsy turvy, and also just in general, the incredible growth of content everywhere else.

[Andi Minaugh]

A lot of that content is on YouTube. In fact, YouTube recently beat out Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal and Paramount to become the most watched video provider on American television. That's according to Nielsen data. And I have to say, some of the content on YouTube bears a striking resemblance to the stuff on network TV. There's celebrities chatting on comfy couches, on video podcasts like Call Her Daddy. Khloe Kardashian, welcome to Call Her Daddy. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. There's hosts trying out products like on Good Mythical Morning, we're letting our dogs.

[Joe Flint]

Test weird pet products. Let's talk about that.

[Andi Minaugh]

And there are shows combining interviews with stunts like Hot Ones, a show where celebrities answer questions while eating increasingly spicy hot wings.

[Joe Flint]

Oh my God, I know. I can't even get to the water. Holy. When does it stop burning?

[Andi Minaugh]

As more people have gone online, advertisers have followed, leaving late night behind. In 2018, advertisers spent about $440 million on late night shows across the three networks. In 2024, that fell by about half.

[Joe Flint]

Ad dollars migrated to other platforms and cheaper platforms too. It's a lot cheaper to buy an ad on a podcast than it is on Colbert's show and maybe get, if not the same audience in terms of size, you're able to target your ad dollars a little more specifically.

[Andi Minaugh]

What has all of this meant for late night shows? Bottom lines?

[Joe Flint]

Well, it means the bottom line of late night shows have shrunk because if the viewers are leaving, then the ad dollars are getting smaller. And if the ad dollars are getting smaller, the show's ability to be profitable gets severely hampered.

[Andi Minaugh]

It's even harder to stay profitable because late night shows are really expensive to make.

[Joe Flint]

I mean, let's think about it. You've got a host salary, right?

[Andi Minaugh]

Not small.

[Joe Flint]

Not small. Then you've got a band, you're paying, and then just producing in general. These shows all have lots of writers and producers. Someone's writing the jokes, someone's researching the guests, someone's preparing the monologues. All of these things start to add.

[Andi Minaugh]

Up at the Late Show. There's a live band, a staff of 200 people, according to Colbert and Colbert himself. He makes an annual salary of $20 million, according to someone familiar with the show's operations. To stem the bleeding across late night, networks have cut their shows budgets. Instead of airing five nights a week, all major late night shows air Monday through Thursday. Producing a show for Friday just isn't worth it. And some shows have gone even further. NBC's Late show with Seth Meyers made a cut that was once unthinkable in late night tv. They got rid of the band. And the Late show hasn't been immune to cuts either.

[Joe Flint]

A source of mine at CBS said that last year they went to Colbert and they did do some cutting, but they just decided this time around the cuts would be too deep to be able to keep the show going in its current form. But they have done cuts on all these shows, reducing staff and trimming episodes and that sort of thing. It's just that it's helping, but not nearly enough.

[Andi Minaugh]

It helps around the edges, but they're kind of seeing the weakness of this entire business model.

[Joe Flint]

Exactly.

[Andi Minaugh]

When you kind of look at the decline of late night, what is threatening this kind of TV the most? Is the problem the time slot? Is it the content? Is it where people are watching? Is it all those things?

[Joe Flint]

I think it's all those things, but I really think part of it is just the plethora of options. It's just grown so much. I mean, late night is having the same challenges all media are having. Technology has changed and created a lot more viewing options. It's just tough for any traditional show or media outlet to sustain or maintain its audience day after day. In today's environment.

[Andi Minaugh]

What would it mean if this genre were to largely go away?

[Joe Flint]

Well, the bigger picture is it's one more thing that used to kind of unite the country and the culture. Going away when Johnny Carson was on that was a unifying force. People tuned in before they went to bed. They got their little spoof on headlines, they got some interviews with entertainers and newsmakers and then went off to sleep. And we don't have those sorts of unifying shows anymore. I think the end of late night on broadcast TV at least is just taking away one more sort of water cooler thing. Hey, did you watch Carson last night? Did you watch Leno last night? Did you watch Colbert last night? Those moments are fewer and fewer in our country as all the audiences become so fragmented.

[Andi Minaugh]

That's all for today. Friday, July 25 Additional reporting in this episode by Ben Fritz and John Jurgensen. The Journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. The show is made by Kathryn Brewer, Pia Gadkari, Carlos Garcia, Rachel Humphries, Sophie Kodner, Ryan Knudsen, Matt Kwong, Colin McNulty, Jessica Mendoza, Laura Morris, Enrique Perez de la Rosa, Sarah Platt, Alan Rodriguez Espinosa, Heather Rogers, Pier Singhi, Jeevika Verma, Lisa Wang, Catherine Whalen, Tatiana Zemis and me, Annie Minoff. Our engineers are Griffin Tanner, Nathan Singapak and Peter Leonard. Our theme music is by so Wiley and remixed by Peter Leonard. Additional music this week from Peter Leonard, Billy Libby, Emma Munger, Audio Network and Blue Dot Sessions. Fact checking this week by Kate Gallagher. Thanks for listening. See you Monday.