The Late Show is Going To Be Canceled: Liberals Blame Trump

[Oompa Loompa]

Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' canceled by CBS, ends May 2026

The most recent ratings from Nielsen show Colbert gaining viewers so far this year and winning his timeslot among broadcasters, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes.

www.pbs.org

Colbert told his audience at New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater that he had learned Wednesday night that after a decade on air, “next year will be our last season. … It’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS. I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”

The audience responded with boos and groans.

“Yeah, I share your feelings,” the 61-year-old comic said.

Three top Paramount and CBS executives praised Colbert’s show as “a staple of the nation’s zeitgeist” in a statement that said the cancellation “is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

For once, I believe CBS.

 

[RileyG]

Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' canceled by CBS, ends May 2026

The most recent ratings from Nielsen show Colbert gaining viewers so far this year and winning his timeslot among broadcasters, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes.

www.pbs.org

For once, I believe CBS.

Nothing lasts forever.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Nothing lasts forever.

I agree, and I agree with the article that suggest that younger viewers generally prefer online highlights. Many late night shows are being canceled, and many late night hosts (both conservative and liberal) are being cut. What bothers me is how liberals are politicizing this and threaten more investigations against Trump.

 

[RileyG]

I agree, and I agree with the article that suggest that younger viewers generally prefer online highlights. Many late night shows are being canceled, and many late night hosts (both conservative and liberal) are being cut. What bothers me is how liberals are politicizing this and threaten more investigations against Trump.

Not to ramble on, but I wonder if the pandemic had anything to do with it? Since then, so many people have been changing their habits in everyday life.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Not to ramble on, but I wonder if the pandemic had anything to do with it? Since then, so many people have been changing their habits in everyday life.

I dont think so. I think it is mostly a cultural shift. Just like how the internet is killing newspapers, YouTube, TikTok, and other social media platforms are

 

[ozso]

Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' canceled by CBS, ends May 2026

The most recent ratings from Nielsen show Colbert gaining viewers so far this year and winning his timeslot among broadcasters, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes.

www.pbs.org

For once, I believe CBS.

Not enough viewers = not enough ratings = not enough advertisers = financial reasons. Go woke, go broke. Jimmy Kimmel is probably next.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Not enough viewers = not enough ratings = not enough advertisers = financial reasons. Go woke, go broke. Jimmy Kimmel is probably next.

And I am sure the liberals will blame Trump too as an "attack on free speach." But, in reality, people are just getting their entertainment and news sources elsewhere like how the internet shorts replaced the paper newspaper.

 

[ozso]

And I am sure the liberals will blame Trump too as an "attack on free speach." But, in reality, people are just getting their entertainment and news sources elsewhere like how the internet shorts replaced the paper newspaper.

Last I heard Gutfeld has tons of viewers.

 

[Tuur]

Not enough viewers = not enough ratings = not enough advertisers = financial reasons. Go woke, go broke. Jimmy Kimmel is probably next.

Ah...

In this instance, if there were enough "woke" viewers that time of night, they wouldn't cancel. They rave about their percentage of viewers, but there's not as many viewers to begin with.

I remember when the alternatives to late night TV was a test pattern or an AM radio station hundreds of miles away. Now there's cable, satellite TV, streaming, video as well as radio, and haven't seen broadcast TV air a test pattern in years. Late night TV isn't the only "game" in town if you need something on a screen to put you to sleep. And to be honest, even Carson fell into that category. Not every episode was like the time he had Johnathan Winters and Robin Williams adlibbing.

 

[Arcangl86]

It could be pure business. But I can see why people are skeptical considering the timing. The ratings were just released and he's number one in his slot and actually increased his numbers slightly. But he also heavily criticized paramount for can't in to a law suit that many think is baseless. The fact that only a couple of days later they announce the cancellation, the optics aren't good.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

Last I heard Gutfeld has tons of viewers.

He does.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

It could be pure business. But I can see why people are skeptical considering the timing. The ratings were just released and he's number one in his slot and actually increased his numbers slightly. But he also heavily criticized paramount for can't in to a law suit that many think is baseless. The fact that only a couple of days later they announce the cancellation, the optics aren't good.

I agree. But is this investigation worthy?

 

[Tuur]

It could be pure business. But I can see why people are skeptical considering the timing. The ratings were just released and he's number one in his slot and actually increased his numbers slightly. But he also heavily criticized paramount for can't in to a law suit that many think is baseless. The fact that only a couple of days later they announce the cancellation, the optics aren't good.

Ratings as a percentage of the overall audience, yes. Ratings as a head-count, no. That's why percentage of the overall audience is touted more than actual viewers. If there were only two late night viewers and one of them watched Colbert, it could be accurately stated that he had a 50% market share. He's top in his time slot, but top in his time slot still isn't as many viewers as it used to be, and lack of viewers means lack of people watching advertisement, and this is what pays for the show. Then you have the issue of what they want as the show's target audience, I'm assuming because ads for some products can command a higher rate than others.

Bottom line is that the viewers aren't there anymore, there are late night options other than late night shows, and it's likely hard to break even given production costs. This isn't someone in a horror costume running B and C grade horror movies in the middle of the night.