While staffers at CBS who spoke to The Independent this morning acknowledged that, like much of broadcast TV, the talk show had been experiencing financial difficulties, they are unconvinced that the news has nothing to do with Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance Media, which the Trump administration must approve if it is to happen. “Many of us think this was part and parcel of the Trump shakedown settlement,” one anonymous staff member told the outlet. Another is quoted as saying the news left “everyone stunned.”
The WGA also issued a statement this afternoon, speaking much more bluntly. “…Paramount canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a show currently performing first in its timeslot, giving vague references to the program’s “financial performance” as the only explanation. For ten years, the show has been one of the most successful, beloved and profitable programs on CBS, entertaining an audience of millions on late night television, on streaming services and across social media,” its statement reads, in part. “Given Paramount’s recent capitulation to President Trump in the CBS News lawsuit, the Writers Guild of America has significant concerns that The Late Show’s cancellation is a bribe, sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration as the company looks for merger approval.” The guild goes on to call on New York State Attorney General Letitia James to “launch an investigation into potential wrongdoing at Paramount.”
That The Late Show is first in its time slot does seem to be the kind of thing that would indicate that the better financial decision would be to keep the show. A report from Variety today digs a bit more into the financials at play. Because Colbert had been the first host on CBS to beat NBC’s Tonight Show ratings since Letterman debuted in 1993, CBS had allowed him to pass on product placements and sponsorships if he didn’t want to do them (as they had allowed Letterman.) The article suggests this was a potential issue given late night’s declining ad sales. (For what it’s worth, the article also states that Colbert and CBS have never had a tense relationship.) In his coverage for Puck, Matthew Belloni highlights the fact that The Late Show‘s ad revenue “has plummeted precipitously since the 2021-22 season,” and concludes that while “[n]obody can know for sure… I cautiously (and skeptically) believe that this was an economic decision.” Maybe so—but a little investigation couldn’t hurt either.
