CBS has publicly revealed for the first time that Stephen Colbert's now-cancelled Late Show was costing the network $40 million per year. The disclosure came as the broadcaster explained its decision to replace the program with Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed, a move that has turned a significant loss into a $15 million profit annually.
Financial Struggles Behind the Scenes
The network announced last summer that it was ending Colbert's show due to financial reasons, with his final episode airing earlier this month. However, the decision followed Colbert's mockery of CBS's $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a deceptively edited interview with Kamala Harris, which Colbert called a 'big, fat bribe.' At the time, Paramount was seeking to acquire Skydance Studios, a deal requiring Trump administration approval, and Colbert's comments were seen as potentially jeopardizing the acquisition.
CBS executives stated that ending The Late Show was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night' and 'not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.' According to Nielsen data cited by Forbes, Colbert had been number one in total viewers for nine consecutive seasons, and his YouTube channel boasts over 10.8 million subscribers. However, declining ad revenue made linear television economics increasingly difficult for all networks.
New Business Model: Time Buy
In a statement published by Deadline and The Daily Beast, CBS praised the new partnership with Byron Allen. 'We're proud to partner with Byron Allen on a new business and programming model for late night that proactively addresses a network daypart that was cost-prohibitive to continue,' CBS said. 'With this 'time buy' model, we have shifted an hour that was losing roughly $40 million annually to $15 million in profit — a $55 million swing.'
Under the arrangement, Allen buys the hour from CBS for a flat fee of $15 million per year. He retains all ad revenue generated, while CBS saves on production costs. Television ratings for Comics Unleashed are no longer a concern for CBS.
Reactions from Fellow Hosts
When rumors first emerged about the $40 million loss, fellow late-night hosts defended Colbert. Jimmy Kimmel told Variety last summer, 'There's just not a snowball's chance in hell that that's anywhere near accurate. The idea that Stephen Colbert's show was losing $40 million a year is beyond nonsensical.' Jimmy Fallon expressed shock on Instagram, calling Colbert 'a true friend.'
David Letterman, who hosted The Late Show from 1993 to 2015 before Colbert took over, addressed the cancellation in an interview with The Barbara Gaines Show. 'They don't want to spend any money, so they're going to make money,' Letterman said. 'They have never been losing money … This is pure cowardice. They did not do the correct thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert — the face of that network — in the way he deserves to have been handled.'
Trump's Response
Following the cancellation, President Trump celebrated the end of Colbert's show. Shortly after Colbert's final episode on May 21, Trump posted on Truth Social, calling Colbert 'no talent, no ratings, no life.' He also shared an AI-generated video showing him dumping Colbert into a garbage bin and dancing. The White House Instagram page reposted the video with the caption 'Bye-bye.'
The financial disclosure marks a rare moment of transparency from CBS regarding the economics of late-night television, highlighting the shifting landscape as networks seek more profitable models.
