Latest news with #MatthewBelloni
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
CBS reportedly lost $40M on Colbert's Late Show a year
CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert because it was losing $40 million a year, it was claimed. Puck journalist Matthew Belloni revealed Colbert's astonishing lack of profitability Friday, hours after CNN first broke the news that the show was canceled because it was in the red. Belloni outlined how The Late Show - whose cancelation was announced Thursday - costs $100m a year to produce, with Colbert, 61, getting paid between $15 million and $20 million a year to host. Colbert beats ABC and NBC rivals Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, but that still wasn't enough to save him. Late night shows have slumped in profitability in recent years as viewers shun the format in favor of streaming services or watching content on their phones. Advertiser revenue has slumped sharply even in the last three years, Puck reported, making it harder to pull Colbert's show out of the red. Colbert was reported to be 'not angry, actually' about his cancelation and was chatting with his staff in a 'matter-of-fact' way before Thursday's show, Puck reported. Colbert, who will broadcast his final show in May 2026, was first informed his show was on the chopping block around July 4, it is claimed. He the went on vacation, giving bosses at CBS time to plot behind his back, CNN reported. Colbert had news of his cancelation confirmed Thursday. He moved to share it as quickly as possible so that his staff would not learn of their impending unemployment via leaks to the press. All three major late night hosts - Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon - have become notorious for their regular rants about President Trump, which many viewers have complained are boring and off-putting. But Belloni said he didn't believe the famously anti-MAGA Colbert was axed to appease Donald Trump, who recently won a $15 million payout from CBS after suing them over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris he said was deceptively edited. The axing of Colbert has delighted Trump, who posted about it on his TruthSocial network earlier today. Colbert's ouster could also make it easier for CBS parent company Paramount's efforts to merge with media company Skydance in a deal that must be approved by Trump's Federal Communications Commission. Colbert's axing came just days after he sniped at CBS bosses for settling with Trump, branding the deal a 'big fat bribe.' The Late Show launched in 1993 under David Letterman to compete with longtime late night juggernaut The Tonight Show. Colbert took over from Letterman in 2015 after his retirement. More than three decades later, CBS's entry into the late night sphere sits at the top, with s econd-best Jimmy Kimmel Live! raking in an average of 1.772 million viewers. Colbert, by comparison, collects an average of 2.417 million. Colbert - who once played a conservative character on Comedy Central's satirical late night program The Colbert Report - often aired jokes at the conservative's expense. Trump celebrated the news of the show's cancellation as a result. 'I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings," he wrote in a Friday Truth Social post. 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert,' he added, before talking up right-wing Fox New star Greg Gutfeld.
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Embarrassing REAL reason Stephen Colbert's show was canceled after bosses hatched plot while star vacationed
CBS canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert because it was losing $40 million a year, it was claimed. Puck journalist Matthew Belloni revealed Colbert's astonishing lack of profitability Friday, hours after CNN first broke the news that the show was canceled because it was in the red. Belloni outlined how The Late Show - whose cancelation was announced Thursday - costs $100m a year to produce, with Colbert, 61, getting paid between $15 million and $20 million a year to host. Colbert beats ABC and NBC rivals Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, but that still wasn't enough to save him. Late night shows have slumped in profitability in recent years as viewers shun the format in favor of streaming services or watching content on their phones. Advertiser revenue has slumped sharply even in the last three years, Puck reported, making it harder to pull Colbert's show out of the red. Colbert was reported to be 'not angry, actually' about his cancelation and was chatting with his staff in a 'matter-of-fact' way before Thursday's show, Puck reported. Colbert, who will broadcast his final show in May 2026, was first informed his show was on the chopping block around July 4, it is claimed. He the went on vacation, giving bosses at CBS time to plot behind his back, CNN reported. Colbert had news of his cancelation confirmed Thursday. He moved to share it as quickly as possible so that his staff would not learn of their impending unemployment via leaks to the press. All three major late night hosts - Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon - have become notorious for their regular rants about President Trump, which many viewers have complained are boring and off-putting. But Belloni said he didn't believe the famously anti-MAGA Colbert was axed to appease Donald Trump, who recently won a $15 million payout from CBS after suing them over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris he said was deceptively edited. The axing of Colbert has delighted Trump, who posted about it on his TruthSocial network earlier today. Colbert's ouster could also make it easier for CBS parent company Paramount's efforts to merge with media company Skydance in a deal that must be approved by Trump's Federal Communications Commission. Colbert's axing came just days after he sniped at CBS bosses for settling with Trump, branding the deal a 'big fat bribe.' The Late Show launched in 1993 under David Letterman to compete with longtime late night juggernaut The Tonight Show. Colbert took over from Letterman in 2015 after his retirement. More than three decades later, CBS's entry into the late night sphere sits at the top, with second-best Jimmy Kimmel Live! raking in an average of 1.772 million viewers. Colbert, by comparison, collects an average of 2.417 million. Colbert - who once played a conservative character on Comedy Central's satirical late night program The Colbert Report - often aired jokes at the conservative's expense. Trump celebrated the news of the show's cancellation as a result. 'I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings," he wrote in a Friday Truth Social post. 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert,' he added, before talking up right-wing Fox New star Greg Gutfeld. '[He's] better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show,' Trump added, referring to Jimmy Fallon.
CBS News
01-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Concern grows over whether Hollywood's film and TV industry can survive in California
Los Angeles — For years, Phil Mangano made a good living as a film and television editor in Los Angeles. "It was just job after job after job," Mangano told CBS News. "…Very consistent work." But after Hollywood writers and actors went on monthslong strikes in 2023, production ground to a halt. California lost roughly 40,000 film and tv jobs that year alone, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "When that finally settled, we were like, OK, great, things will come back," Mangano said. "And there has been no significant increase in job opportunities." Since its peak in 2021, television production in the greater Los Angeles area has decreased by 58%, according to the nonprofit group FilmLA, which handles film permitting for the city and county of Los Angeles. The number of shoot days for television fell from 18,560 in 2021 to 7,716 in 2024. And in the first quarter of 2025, on-location production in L.A. declined by 22.4% from the same period last year, per numbers from FilmLA. "Right now, it's a triage situation. The patient is dying and you need to bring it back to life," Matthew Belloni, who covers show business for Puck News and hosts the popular podcast "The Town," told CBS News. Belloni says Hollywood productions, and hence the jobs, have gone to other U.S. states and other countries who are willing to offer generous tax incentives. "Some European countries that are offering up to 40% back on these productions," Belloni said. "And that's incredibly influential." California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to stop the bleeding by more than doubling the state's annual film and TV tax credits from $330 million to $750 million. "Film and film making, pre and post-production, it's on life support," Newsom told reporters earlier this month. "L.A. County and L.A. city are struggling." But is the proposal too little too late? "The sad reality is that California has sat on this issue for 30 years," Belloni said. Belloni is unsure if California can provide enough tax credits to offset the high cost of working in the state. "Other jurisdictions have done their own aggressive cuts to that bureaucracy," Belloni said. "Is California willing to do that? Don't know." In the meantime, Mangano and thousands of others in Hollywood are looking for whatever work they can find. "I applied for a job at Costco a couple months ago," said Mangano, who adds that he cannot hold out "much longer." "I have a little savings left," he adds. "We're hoping that'll float us for a few more months. And then we have to start making some hard decisions…Whether or not we can keep the house."
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NFL faces antitrust lawsuit over refusal to allow teams to be on Bluesky
The NFL enjoys a couple of important antitrust exemptions. But the collection of 32 independent businesses isn't immune from any and all liability for collective action under the umbrella of Big Shield. Via Matthew Belloni of Puck, the NFL's refusal to allow teams to have official Bluesky accounts has prompted an antitrust lawsuit from consumers who want to follow the various franchises on a platform other than Twitter. The civil action challenges the refusal to do business with Bluesky, reportedly due to the fact that Bluesky has yet to make it worth the NFL's while to allow teams to do business with the upstart challenger to the social-media service that many have fled due to its owner's politics. From the complaint, some fans "do not want to have to follow their teams on Elon Musk's X platform," and that consumers "should be free to decide that they do not want to do business with a particular outlet or brand.' The NFL will undoubtedly commence its defense by trying to force the case from open court and into arbitration. And the first question will be whether and to what extent any of the plaintiffs have agreed to last year's terms and conditions that consent to arbitration and waive the ability to proceed as a class-action. While it doesn't cure the potential underlying violation, it potentially makes it much harder for those who have agreed to those terms to get full and complete justice.
NBC Sports
12-02-2025
- Business
- NBC Sports
NFL faces antitrust lawsuit over refusal to allow teams to be on Bluesky
The NFL enjoys a couple of important antitrust exemptions. But the collection of 32 independent businesses isn't immune from any and all liability for collective action under the umbrella of Big Shield. Via Matthew Belloni of Puck, the NFL's refusal to allow teams to have official Bluesky accounts has prompted an antitrust lawsuit from consumers who want to follow the various franchises on a platform other than Twitter. The civil action challenges the refusal to do business with Bluesky, reportedly due to the fact that Bluesky has yet to make it worth the NFL's while to allow teams to do business with the upstart challenger to the social-media service that many have fled due to its owner's politics. From the complaint, some fans 'do not want to have to follow their teams on Elon Musk's X platform,' and that consumers 'should be free to decide that they do not want to do business with a particular outlet or brand.' The NFL will undoubtedly commence its defense by trying to force the case from open court and into arbitration. And the first question will be whether and to what extent any of the plaintiffs have agreed to last year's terms and conditions that consent to arbitration and waive the ability to proceed as a class-action. While it doesn't cure the potential underlying violation, it potentially makes it much harder for those who have agreed to those terms to get full and complete justice.
