CBS is basically leasing the Late Show slot to Byron Allen

“What we do is we keep the commercial time, and we sell it directly to the advertisers,” Byron explained. “I agreed to pay the network millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars, so this better work or I’m gonna be in front of your house in a tent.” 

As Late Nighter explains, CBS is basically leasing the two hour-long time slots to Allen instead of producing or licensing the shows itself. The move makes a certain sense for CBS, which has been claiming that the only reason Colbert’s show was cancelled was because it’s expensive to produce and not because of its political content. The network is now guaranteed at least some cash for the time slot, but, as Late Nighter points out, it’s unclear what this would mean for all the affiliate stations that air CBS’ content.