To say there’s been an uproar over the cancellation of The Late Present after 33 years could be an understatement, as everyone from Jimmy Kimmel to Bowen Yang to Andy Cohen is sounding off. Stephen Colbert continues to be set to proceed internet hosting episodes nightly on the 2025 TV schedule till subsequent Might, however as heated arguments proceed over politics and cash losses, some are claiming this transfer might have been made before it was.
The Late Present with Stephen Colbert airs on CBS, whose mother or father firm, Paramount International, is within the midst of a merger with Skydance. The reported $8 billion deal was delayed by a lawsuit involving President Donald Trump and 60 Minutes, which was finally settled (a transfer that Colbert himself criticized on the air). An individual near Skydance informed the New York Submit’s On the Cash that if the merger hadn’t been held up, The Late Present would have been canceled sooner. They claimed:
This factor is dropping cash left and proper. I hear it’s on the best way to lose greater than $50 million and they’d have killed it sooner in the event that they had been in cost. This man pisses off greater than half the nation.
CBS mentioned The Late Present’s cancellation was purely primarily based on funds, regardless of Stephen Colbert being thought of among the best late-night hosts on a present that was comfortably successful its timeslot within the rankings.
Nevertheless, the timing of the choice appeared questionable to some, because it got here simply days after Colbert known as Paramount’s choice to settle its lawsuit with the president — paying $16 million towards his Presidential Library — a “massive fats bribe.”
A supply for Skydance — which is run by the Ellison household, who’ve shut private ties to Donald Trump — maintains that The Late Present was headed towards losses larger than the earlier 12 months, reportedly within the $40 million to $50 million vary, and would have been a major goal for cancellation. A Paramount spokesperson declined to remark to the N.Y. Submit however denied that Stephen Colbert’s present is dropping greater than $50 million yearly.
A deeper look into the monetary image appears to point out hassle for the way forward for late-night exhibits as a complete, with promoting charges cratering ($220 million throughout late-night exhibits in 2024, in comparison with $439 million in 2018) and fewer folks turning to community TV for leisure.
Add to that the massive employees required to supply the every day exhibits and the hosts’ salaries — Stephen Colbert allegedly is estimated to make between $15 million and $20 million yearly — and one can see how the losses might pile up shortly.
The controversy will proceed whether or not The Late Present’s cancellation was a monetary inevitability or politically motivated, however there’s no questioning the results many really feel over the loss. Stephen Colbert’s crew is reportedly “devastated,” and you may guess that Jon Stewart had some passionate phrases concerning the significance of exhibits like Colbert’s that take a stand.
I’ve acquired a sense we haven’t seen the top of this subject — particularly with The Late Present with Stephen Colbert persevering with to air at 11:35 p.m. ET weeknights on CBS.