MW Stephen Colbert's show is ending. Is it a sign of what's to come for late-night TV?
By Lukas I. Alpert
The worsening economics of television have put pressure on networks to reconsider the value of late-night shows, although the specter of President Trump also hangs over Colbert's departure
Donald Trump was a guest on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" during its first season, in 2015.
Stephen Colbert's upcoming departure will spell the end of "The Late Show" for CBS. It could also be a harbinger of the future of late-night TV.
The end of Colbert's run - after 11 years as host of the top-rated late-night show - comes against the backdrop of sharp declines in television audiences and profitability overall. That has forced networks to re-evaluate these onetime tentpole franchises.
When Colbert announced last year that his show was being axed by CBS after this season, there were reports that the program was losing up to $50 million a year. Some have challenged that figure and questioned whether politics played a role in the show's demise.
At the time of the announcement, CBS's parent company, Paramount, was trying to finalize a merger that required government approval, and it had just reached an agreement to pay President Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit in which he accused CBS of deceptively editing an interview with 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Most legal experts considered the lawsuit baseless and believed that the settlement came under pressure to get the deal done. After Paramount reached the agreement, Colbert - a frequent Trump critic - called it a "big fat bribe" on air. Two days later, Paramount moved to cancel the show, framing it as "purely a financial decision."
It is undeniable that the economics of television and late night have changed. Ad spending on late-night programs across all networks fell almost 50% between 2018 and 2024, dropping from $439 million to $220 million, according to advertising-data company Guideline.
Paramount Skydance $(PSKY)$ reported in its latest quarter that advertising revenue and total revenue for its television division had declined 6% from the prior year. Yet it saw its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rise significantly year over year, something it largely attributed to cost cutting. This comes as the company is looking to further cut costs ahead of closing a $110 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery $(WBD)$.
"If the show was losing millions of dollars a year as has been reported, then it shows that Paramount is being prudent from a fiscal standpoint," said media analyst Craig Huber of Huber Research. "Given the amount of debt they are about to take on, they have to look under every rock to find whatever savings they can."
While the impact of late-night shows on linear television has been in decline and many have struggled to find a path on streaming, where topical programming is often less successful, they remain influential on social media, where clips frequently go viral.
"It does not seem like a question of whether the format has gone stale, but it comes down to how viewers choose to watch things now and whether these shows can be repositioned to meet that audience in a new way," said Jason Lynch, a curator at the Paley Center for Media.
To mark the end of Colbert's show, he has been joined on air by fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Myers and John Oliver, all of whom have decided to not air new shows of their own on May 21, the night of Colbert's last episode. Daily Show host Jon Stewart is also set to appear in one of Colbert's final episodes.
CBS has opted not to replace Colbert. Instead, it will exit the late-night game altogether, with plans to lease the 11:30 time slot to the syndicated show "Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen."
CBS's move comes amid a broader contraction in the late-night space. CBS canceled the show "After Hours" after its host, comedian Taylor Tomlinson, decided to leave despite the renewal of the program for a third season.
In 2024, Comcast's $(CMCSA)$ NBC let go of the house band for its show "Late Night With Seth Myers" as part of a cost-cutting effort. That same year, NBC also cut back the "Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon from five to four nights a week.
The TBS late-night show "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" was canceled in 2022 following the merger of Warner Media and Discovery.
Networks have also come under pressure from the White House, with President Trump making clear his dislike of late-night hosts who have been critical of him.
Last year, Walt Disney's $(DIS)$ ABC pulled Kimmel off the air for a week after the White House pressured its affiliates following comments Kimmel made about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The Federal Communications Commission recently moved to review ABC's broadcast licenses after the White House complained about remarks Kimmel made about first lady Melania Trump.
The shift away from late night by the networks is reflective of a greater shift in media, Lynch said.
"These entertainers have historically been more than just hosts, but in many ways served as the face of their networks," he said. "Yet now, it is possible that this group of late-night hosts may be the last that we ever see."
-Lukas I. Alpert
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May 15, 2026 15:02 ET (19:02 GMT)
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