CBS staffers question why Stephen Colbert's show was canceled, calling it a ‘chilling of free speech'
The late-night landscape was rocked when CBS and host Stephen Colbert announced 'The Late Show' was coming to an end in May 2026, ending the franchise after more than 30 years on the air.
'I am having a hard time believing it,' one CBS staffer told Fox News Digital.
CBS said in a statement that it was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,' but the network insider wasn't buying it.
'I've lost interest in extreme POVs on either end, but I see this as a chilling of free speech and the timing seems to send a strong message that this is cause and effect for what he said about the settlement,' the CBS staffer said. 'The CBS leadership could have cloaked it somehow, but made a decision not to.'
5 The late-night landscape was rocked when CBS and host Stephen Colbert announced 'The Late Show' was coming to an end in May 2026.
colbertlateshow/Instagram
5 CBS said in a statement that it was 'purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,' but the network insider wasn't buying it.
Christopher Sadowski
'This one action against Colbert will change multiple peoples' willingness to give their opinions or perspectives – that's how I see it,' the staffer added.
Just days before the announced cancellation, Colbert took aim at his corporate bosses at parent company Paramount Global for settling President Donald Trump's lawsuit.
'I believe this kind of complicated financial sentiment with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. 'It's a 'big fat bribe,'' Colbert told his audience. 'Because it all comes as Paramount's owners are trying to get the Trump administration to approve the sale of our network to a new owner, Skydance!'
5 Stephen Colbert on The Late Show.
CBS via Getty Images
5 Just days before the announced cancellation, Colbert took aim at his corporate bosses at parent company Paramount Global for settling President Donald Trump's lawsuit.
CBS via Getty Images
There had been concerns within Paramount that not settling Trump's lawsuit would halt its Skydance merger, which needs the approval of the FCC. The merger is expected to move forward this year.
A second CBS staffer told Fox News Digital 'the timing is weird,' suggesting it's tied with the forthcoming merger but didn't rule out the financial reasoning the network gave.
'I mean with the layoffs and everything that's happened recently nothing surprises me,' the staffer said, later adding that the 'timing is definitely sketchy though.'
Paramount did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
While many critics, including top Democrats, have speculated the late-night cancellation was a political one, one report shed light on the financial struggles of 'The Late Show.'
Puck News' Matt Belloni reported the late-night show has been losing 'more than $40 million a year' for CBS and that it had a budget of 'more than $100 million per season,' contrasting it with network's daytime and primetime programming, which he noted were 'still profitable.'
5 A second CBS staffer told Fox News Digital 'the timing is weird,' suggesting it's tied with the forthcoming merger but didn't rule out the financial reasoning the network gave.
AFP via Getty Images
''Late Show,' with its topical humor and celebrity interviews pegged to specific projects, has struggled on Paramount+. And of the three network late-night shows, 'Late Show' has by far the smallest digital footprint on YouTube and other platforms,' Belloni wrote. 'So from a business perspective, the cancellation makes sense.'
'Colbert gets no advertising and late night is a tough spot,' one person with knowledge of CBS' decision told FOX Business' Charles Gasparino.
Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here!
Belloni said the sources he spoke with at CBS and Skydance Media, the company that is set to buy the network's parent company Paramount Global as part of an $8 billion merger, insist Colbert's cancellation was 'based on economics, not politics,' pointing to the decision to give his show a 10-month extension instead of pulling the plug immediately as evidence.
'Still, two other people with deep ties to CBS and Late Show suspect otherwise,' Belloni said. 'After all, when a network decides that a show is too expensive, executives typically go to the key talent and ask them to take pay cuts, fire people, or otherwise slash costs. That didn't happen here—though with Colbert said to be making between $15 million and $20 million per year, a pay cut wouldn't have solved the problem on its own.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
39 minutes ago
- New York Post
Democrats self-own bragging about inflation shows the left has learned NOTHING
Everybody makes mistakes. Not everyone makes the same mistakes over and over again. Last week, the geniuses in charge of maintaining the Democratic Party's social media picked at a fresh wound — and showed, again, exactly why it lost the 2024 election. The blue team's official X account shared a line chart showing the change in the price of various groceries — meat, dairy, produce, etc. — over time, and asserting that 'prices are higher today than they were on [sic] July 2024.' 'Trump's America,' read the caption. The problem? The last part of the line barely went up. The blue team's official X account, with the caption 'Trump's America,' shared a chart showing the change in the price of various groceries, asserting that 'prices are higher today than they were on [sic] July 2024.' Eric Daugherty, /X And what it actually showed was a massive increase in prices between 2021 and 2024. In other words: over the course of former President Joe Biden's White House tenure. 'I would just advise Democrats not to post about inflation given their track record,' suggested conservative influencer A.G. Hamilton. 'Might save them the embarrassment of having to delete their posts after getting dunked on' — which is exactly what they did. 'This is the gang that couldn't shoot straight!' marveled Fox Business host Stuart Varney. And of course Team Trump got in on the action. The problem with the chart was that it actually showed a massive increase in prices between 2021 and 2024 – when Biden was president. RapidResponse47/X What's notable about the braindead blunder, though, is not the blunder itself. It was that it represented yet another admission, eight and a half months after they surrendered the presidency to Donald Trump for the second time in three election cycles, that the Democrats still haven't made a sincere effort at diagnosing the reasons for their unpopularity — much less addressing them. A new Wall Street Journal poll found that their party continues to suffer as a result — to the point that just 33% of Americans hold a favorable view of it, and 63% view it unfavorably. Both Donald Trump (-7) and the GOP (-11) are also underwater, but may as well be polling as well as ice cream compared to the Democrats. The same holds true of the public's view of various issues; voters still trust the GOP more than the alternative when it comes to the economy, inflation, immigration and foreign policy. If that doesn't wake Democrats up to the provenance of all their political pain, nothing will. The Left has long relied on comforting fallacies to numb the discomfort that accompanies defeat. After 2016, elected Democrats and their media allies insisted that Trump's shocking victory was only possible thanks to Russian meddling. And now, they're laboring under the misimpression that return to power can be attributed to Republicans' superior, but decepting messaging — an almost supernatural ability to compel Americans to believe that which isn't so. If only they could convince the public of the truth, they'd surely prevail. But the cold, hard truth is that it's always been about the substance, stupid — as the unflattering data they so proudly shared last week demonstrates. Kamala Harris was deposited into the dustbin of history because she was the top lieutenant in an administration that had proven a miserable failure long before her boss's implosion last summer. Americans spent the entirety of the Biden years telling pollsters that their lives were demonstrably, palpably worse as a result of historic price hikes. Biden & Co. responded to these pleas for relief by denying the existence of inflation until they couldn't any longer. Then, when they finally did implicitly admit to the effects of the nearly $2 trillion boondoggle they passed in 2021, they slapped the name 'Inflation Reduction Act' on yet another profligate spending bill that every layman in America knew would only compound the problem. There are similar stories to be told about Americans' dissatisfaction with Biden's approach to foreign policy, his abdication of his duty to secure the border, and his championing of a radical social agenda that maintains up is down, left is right, and black is white. Their stubborn refusal to grapple with this incontrovertible truth is also reportedly set to be reflected in an upcoming 2024 autopsy conducted by the DNC. The New York Times reports that it will 'steer clear of the decisions made by the Biden-turned-Harris campaign,' and instead 'focus more on outside groups and super PACs that spent hundreds of millions of dollars aiding the Biden and Harris campaigns through advertising, voter registration drives and turnout efforts.' It's like watching a restaurant serving inedible food invest in new plateware. The gripe has never been with the Democrats' presentation or voters' tastes. It's with the product itself.
Los Angeles Times
39 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
It's a year of rapid change, except when it comes to Trump's approval numbers, poll finds
WASHINGTON — Eric Hildenbrand has noticed prices continue to rise this year with President Trump in the White House. The San Diego resident doesn't blame Trump, however, his choice for president in 2024, but says Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats who control the state are at fault. 'You can't compare California with the rest of the country,' said Hildenbrand, 76. 'I don't know what's going on in the rest of the country. It seems like prices are dropping. Things are getting better, but I don't necessarily see it here.' Voters like Hildenbrand, whose support of the Republican president is unwavering, help explain Trump's polling numbers and how they have differed from other presidents' polling trajectory in significant ways. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in March found that 42% of U.S. adults approved of Trump's job performance. That is a lower rating than those of other recent presidents at the beginning of their second terms, including Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush. The most recent AP-NORC poll, from July, puts Trump at 40% approval. While that is not a meaningful change from March, there is some evidence that Trump's support may be softening, at least on the margins. The July poll showed a slight decrease in approval of his handling of immigration since earlier in the year. Some other pollsters, such as Gallup, show a downward slide in overall approval since slightly earlier in his term, in January. But even those shifts are within a relatively narrow range, which is typical for Trump. The new AP-NORC polling tracker shows that Trump's favorability rating has remained largely steady since the end of his first term, with between 33% and 43% of U.S. adults saying they viewed him favorably across more than five years. Those long-term trends underscore that Trump has many steadfast opponents. But loyal supporters also help explain why views of the president are hard to change even as he pursues policies that most Americans do not support, using an approach that many find abrasive. Trump has not had a traditional honeymoon period in his second term. He did not in his first, either. An AP-NORC poll conducted in March 2017, two months into his first term, showed that 42% of Americans 'somewhat' or 'strongly' approved of his performance. That is largely where his approval rating stayed over the course of the next four years. The recent slippage on immigration is particularly significant because that issue was a major strength for Trump in the 2024 election. Earlier in his second term, it was also one of the few areas where he was outperforming his overall approval. In March, about half of U.S. adults approved of his handling of immigration. But the July AP-NORC poll found his approval on immigration at 43%, in line with his overall approval rating. Other recent polls show growing discontent with Trump's approach on immigration. A CNN/SSRS poll found that 55% of U.S. adults say the president has gone too far when it comes to deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally, an increase of 10 percentage points since February. 'I understand wanting to get rid of illegal immigrants, but the way that's being done is very aggressive,' said Donovan Baldwin, 18, of Asheboro, N.C., who did not vote in the 2024 election. 'And that's why people are protesting, because it comes off as aggression. It's not right.' Ratings of Trump's handling of the economy, which were more positive during his first term, have been persistently negative in his second term. The July poll found that few Americans think Trump's policies have benefited them so far. Even if he is not a fan of everything Trump has done so far, Brian Nichols, 58, of Albuquerque is giving him the benefit of the doubt. Nichols, who voted for Trump in 2024, likes what he is seeing from the president overall, though he has his concerns both on style and substance, particularly Trump's social media presence and his on-again, off-again tariffs. Nichols also does not like the push to eliminate federal agencies such as the Education Department. Despite his occasional disagreements with Trump, though, Nichols said he wants to give the president space to do his job, and he trusts the House and Senate, now run by Republicans, to act as a safeguard. 'We put him into office for a reason, and we should be trusting that he's doing the job for the best of America,' Nichols said. Trump has spent the last six months pushing far-reaching and often unpopular policies. Earlier this year, Americans were bracing themselves for higher prices as a result of his approach to tariffs. The July poll found that most people think Trump's tax and spending bill will benefit the wealthy, while few think it will pay dividends for the middle class or people like them. Discomfort with individual policies may not translate into wholesale changes in views of Trump, though. Those have largely been constant through years of turmoil, with his favorability rating staying within a 10-percentage point range through his widely panned handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a felony conviction and an attempted assassination. To some of his supporters, the benefits of his presidency far outweigh the costs. Kim Schultz, 62, of Springhill, Fla., said she is thrilled with just about everything Trump is doing as president, particularly his aggressive moves to deport anyone living in the country illegally. Even if Trump's tariffs eventually take effect and push prices up, she said she will not be alarmed. 'I've always had the opinion that if the tariffs are going to cost me a little bit more here and there, I don't have a problem with that,' she said. Across the country, Hildenbrand dislikes Trump's personality and his penchant for insults, including those directed at foreign leaders. But he thinks Trump is making things happen. 'More or less, to me, he's showing that he's on the right track,' he said. 'I'm not in favor of Trump's personality, but I am in favor of what he's getting done.' Thomson-Deveaux and Cooper write for the Associated Press and reported from Washington and Phoenix, respectively.
CNN
40 minutes ago
- CNN
Jay Leno says political comedy can alienate audiences: ‘I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture'
Jay Leno is happy standing in the middle of the aisle as far as political humor goes. During a recent conversation with David Trulio for The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the former late-night host spoke about some of the risks that can come with mixing politics and comedy. 'I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from the things, the pressures of life, wherever it might be,' Leno told Trulio. 'And I love political humor, don't get me wrong, but what happens (is) people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other.' Leno then asked, 'Why shoot for just half an audience, why not try to get the whole (audience)?' 'I mean, I like to bring people into the big picture. I don't understand why you would alienate one particular group. Or just don't do it at all,' he said. 'I'm not saying you have to throw your support or whatever, but just just do what's funny.' His ethos then and now is simply just, 'Funny is funny,' he said, adding, 'I don't think anybody wants to hear a lecture.' Leno's interview with Trulio appears to have been conducted prior to CBS announcing the cancellation of 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.' CNN has reached out to a representative for Leno for comment. CBS announced earlier this month that the network was cancelling 'The Late Show,' a late night program that has been on the air since David Letterman hosted it in 1993. Colbert took over as host in 2015. The show will end in the spring of 2026. The network cited financial reasons for the move, but there have been questions about the timing of the announcement given Colbert's previous criticism of President Donald Trump and the recent settlement between the Trump administration and Paramount, the parent company of CBS, over a lawsuit involving '60 Minutes.' There were also questions about the move coming amid Skydance Media's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount, which required and recently received approval from federal regulators. Leno hosted 'The Tonight Show' on NBC from 1992 to 2009 before Conan O'Brien took over. Jimmy Fallon has served as host of the program since 2014. Fallon, along with other current late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers, all of whom are known to be critical of the Trump administration on their respective programs, voiced support for Colbert following the CBS announcement.
