Latest news with #late night TV
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jon Stewart defended his friend Stephen Colbert in an f-bomb-filled monologue against CBS and the Trump administration
Jon Stewart slammed CBS's decision to cancel his friend Stephen Colbert's talk show. CBS, which is owned by Paramount, said the cancellation was "purely a financial decision." But Stewart said Paramount was capitulating to Trump over its proposed merger with Skydance Media. Jon Stewart says CBS's cancellation of "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" has less to do with the show's financials and more to do with getting into the Trump administration's good books. Stewart slammed CBS and its decision during his expletive-filled monologue on "The Daily Show" that aired on Monday night. Both Stewart's and Colbert's shows share the same parent company, Paramount Global. "Now, obviously, I am certainly not the most objective to comment on this matter," Stewart said of his longtime friendship with Colbert. Stewart acknowledged the financial challenges that come with trying to run a late-night television show like Colbert's. Stewart said in his monologue that "late night TV is a struggling financial model" and is akin to "operating a Blockbuster kiosk inside of a Tower Records." "But when your industry is faced with changes, you don't just call it a day. My God, when CDs stopped selling, they didn't just go, 'Oh well, music, it's been a good run,'" Stewart said. Stewart said CBS's cancellation of Colbert's show raised questions over whether it was "purely financial" or the "path of least resistance" for Paramount's proposed merger with Skydance Media. "I believe CBS lost the benefit of the doubt two weeks prior when they sold out their flagship news program to pay an extortion fee to said president," Stewart said. Earlier this month, Paramount said it had agreed to pay President Donald Trump a $16 million settlement. Trump had filed a lawsuit against CBS that accused the network of "deceptive editing" of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris on "60 Minutes." "Look, I understand the corporate fear. I understand the fear that you and your advertisers have with $8 billion at stake," Stewart said. "But understand this: Truly, the shows that you now seek to cancel, censor, and control, a not-insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those fucking shows. That's what made you that money," he added. Representatives for Stewart, Colbert, CBS, and the White House didn't respond to requests for comment. 'Fear and pre-compliance' Stewart said that capitulating to Trump wouldn't play out the way Paramount expects. He referenced the president's recent lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after it reported on a "bawdy" birthday letter Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein on the latter's 50th birthday. "Donald Trump is suing Rupert Murdoch. The owner of Fox News, the man other than Biden may be most responsible for getting Trump elected," Stewart said. "Fox spends 24 hours a day blowing Trump, and it's not enough. Imagine suing someone mid-blow. How could you? 'Finish up. Finish up down there, and I'll see you in court,'" he added. Stewart added that the reason Colbert's show was ending wasn't its financial health but the "fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America's institutions." "This is not the moment to give in. I'm not giving in," Stewart said. During his half-hour monologue, Stewart said versions of the f-word more than two dozen times. CBS said in a statement on July 18 that the cancellation of Colbert's show was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." It added that the decision was "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount." Last week, Puck's Matt Belloni reported that Colbert's show had been losing more than $40 million a year. This is in spite of Colbert's popularity with viewers. His show was the only late-night show to gain viewers this year, according to ratings from the American audience measurement company Nielsen. Advertising revenue across late-night shows like Colbert's has been dropping, too. Ad revenue for late-night fell from $439 million in 2018 to $220 million in 2024, The New York Times reported, citing data it had obtained from the advertising data firm Guideline. Read the original article on Business Insider
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
CBS says Stephen Colbert's 'The Late Show' to end in May 2026
Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show", long a staple of late night US television, will end in 2026, the CBS network said, days after the comedian blasted parent company Paramount's $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump as "a big fat bribe." CBS said in a statement the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," and was "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount." "Next year will be our last season," the host announced on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Thursday to boos and shouts of disbelief. "The network will be ending the show in May." Paramount reached its $16 million settlement with Trump this month in a lawsuit the entertainment giant had described as meritless. Trump sued Paramount for $20 billion last year, alleging that CBS News' "60 Minutes" program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favor. The company is seeking to close its $8 billion merger with the entertainment company Skydance, which needs federal government approval. Colbert said on Thursday the cancellation was not just the end of his show but the end of the decades-old "The Late Show" franchise, which has been broadcast continuously on CBS since 1993. "I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away," he said. -'America deserves better'- Trump celebrated the cancellation, writing on his Truth Social platform, "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings." Trump's political opponents and other critics drew attention to the timing of the decision. "CBS canceled Colbert's show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump -- a deal that looks like bribery," Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said on social media platform X. "America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons," Warren said. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who was on Colbert's show the night he announced it would be ending, said: "If Paramount and CBS ended the 'Late Show' for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better." Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who has his own late night program, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", on ABC, was among the celebrities that condemned CBS's decision. "Love you Stephen." Skyler Higley, a writer on "After Midnight," joked on X that "the Colbert thing is actually quite worrying do you know what it means when they start coming for the white Catholics?" "After Midnight" was the show that followed "The Late Show" on CBS and was championed and executive produced by Colbert until it too was cancelled in June. CBS said in its Thursday statement it was "proud that Stephen called CBS home." "He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television," its statement said. Colbert, one of the most popular American comedians, made use of humor in his incisive political commentary and succeeded David Letterman as the host of "The Late Show" in 2015. Before that Colbert was a regular on Comedy Central alongside fellow talk show host and political pundit Jon Stewart. The late-night television landscape has long been dominated by satirical comedy shows that blend entertainment with political commentary. For decades, programs such as "The Late Show", "The Tonight Show," and "Late Night" have served as television touchstones, with hosts like Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman and more recently Colbert and Jimmy Fallon shaping public discourse through humor and celebrity interviews.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
CBS Says It's Canceling Colbert Over Money, Not Politics. Is That Truthiness?
In 2005, on his satire 'The Colbert Report,' Stephen Colbert coined the term 'truthiness,' meaning a statement that was not actually true but represented a reality that the speaker wished to inhabit. In 2015, Colbert replaced David Letterman on CBS's 'Late Show,' which under him became one of the biggest and most prolific launchers of satirically guided missiles during the Trump era. In 2024, President Trump — who has repeatedly bemoaned his late-night coverage — said CBS 'should terminate his contract.' Now, in 2025, CBS has said that it is canceling Colbert's show at the end of its season, next May. Executives stressed, in the announcement, that the cut was '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.' Is that the truth, or merely truthy? There is good reason that CBS would need to offer that assurance. The network's parent company, Paramount, just this month settled a lawsuit from President Trump, over the editing of a '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris, for $16 million. At the same time, Paramount was hoping to close a multibillion-dollar merger with the company Skydance, which required the approval of the Trump administration. Many legal experts said the deal was an unnecessary concession in a frivolous case. At minimum it undermined one of TV journalism's most accomplished independent voices. Some people called it 'a big, fat bribe' — actually, those were Colbert's words, in a blistering monologue a few days ago, which also mentioned speculation that CBS's future owners might try to rein him in. Talk show hosts have bitten the hand that signs the contracts before; Letterman needled NBC and its then-parent, General Electric. But back then, the issues did not involve conflicts with a president willing to pull any necessary levers to punish and influence media outlets. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
CBS says Stephen Colbert's 'The Late Show' to end in May 2026
Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show", long a staple of late night US television, will end in 2026, the CBS network said Thursday, days after the comedian blasted parent company Paramount's $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump as "a big fat bribe". CBS said in a statement the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," and was "not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at (parent company) Paramount." "Next year will be our last season," the host announced on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Thursday to boos and shouts of disbelief. "The network will be ending the show in May (2026)." Paramount, CBS's parent company, reached its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump this month in a lawsuit the entertainment giant described as meritless. Trump had sued Paramount for $20 billion last year, alleging that CBS News' "60 Minutes" program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favor. The company is seeking to close its $8 billion merger with the entertainment company Skydance, which needs federal government approval. Colbert said on Thursday the cancellation was not just the end of his show but the end of decades-old "The Late Show" franchise, which has been broadcast continuously on CBS since 1993. "I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away," he said. 'America deserves better' Trump's political opponents and other critics drew attention to the timing of the decision. "CBS canceled Colbert's show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump -- a deal that looks like bribery," Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said on social media platform X. "America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons," Warren said. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who was on Colbert's show the night he announced it would be ending, said: "If Paramount and CBS ended the 'Late Show' for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better." Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who has his own late night program "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" for ABC, was among the celebrities that condemned CBS's decision. "Love you Stephen." CBS said in its Thursday statement it was "proud that Stephen called CBS home." "He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television," its statement said. Colbert, one of the most popular American comedians who made use of humor in his incisive political commentatary, succeeded David Letterman as the host of "The Late Show" in 2015. Before that Colbert was a regular on Comedy Central alongside fellow talk show host and political pundit Jon Stewart. The late-night television landscape has long been dominated by satirical comedy shows that blend entertainment with political commentary. For decades, programmes such as "The Late Show", "The Tonight Show," and "Late Night" have served as television touchstones, with hosts like Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, David Letterman and more recently Colbert and Jimmy Fallon shaping public discourse through humour and celebrity interviews. abs/fox
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
CBS to Cancel ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert' Citing ‘Financial Decision'
TV's ongoing problems with late night have come for Stephen Colbert, with CBS announcing Thursday that it plans to end his 'Late Show' after the next TV season, citing a 'financial decision.' The maneuver — which ends years of original late-night programming at CBS that started when the network lured David Letterman from NBC in 1993 — comes as the economics of wee-hours TV have begun to accelerate, with media companies growing wary of the high price tags involved in producing the shows while the young viewers they try to attract watch more of them via digital video. More from Variety CBS Reveals Fall Premiere Dates; 'CIA' Moves to Midseason, Gets New Showrunner Eva Pilgrim Jumps to 'Inside Edition' from ABC News' 'GMA3' Trump Claims '60 Minutes' Settlement Is Worth as Much as $35 Million Including 'Advertising'; Paramount Denies Deal Includes PSAs 'We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire 'The Late Show' franchise' in May of 2026, CBS executives said in a statement. 'We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television. This 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.' Colbert, who was informed of the network's decision Wednesday evening, according to a person familiar with the matter, told the audience at the taping for Thursday's broadcast about the matter. 'It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it,' he quipped, while offering thanks to CBS executives and the 200 or so staffers who work on his program. Audience members booed. ''Yeah, I share your feelings,' said Colbert. 'It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of 'The Late Show' on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away.' There has been growing speculation that both Colbert and Jon Stewart, who hosts one broadcast of Comedy Central's 'Daily Show' each week, could be under growing scrutiny from executives at Skydance Media, which is slated to acquire Paramount Global, the parent of both CBS and Comedy Central. David Ellison, who leads Skydance, has projected an image of being intrigued by the politics espoused by President Donald Trump, who Colbert and Stewart routinely skewer in monologues and commentary. Indeed, Senator Adam Schiff, the California Democrat, took to social media Thursday after taping a 'Late Show' broadcast and said: 'If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.' CBS has already been winding down its activity around midnight. The network recently cancelled 'After Midnight,' a companion program that aired after 'Late Show' and featured comedian Taylor Tomlinson. She decided to leave to focus on her own stand-up, even though CBS had sought a third season of the show. It's no secret among staffers and executives associated with late night that the business of the format has been in decline. Young people are the very consumers jumping first to new streaming behaviors that are less tied to watching programs at a specific time and date. Hosts like Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Colbert continue to generate headlines and digital memes and still build sizable live audiences that the networks– and their distributors and advertisers — covet. But less so, and the ranks of the hosts have narrowed in recent years. So too have episodes of the shows. None of the medium's regular hosts holds forth on Fridays any longer, with Fallon's 'Tonight' the last to give up the fifth night of the week. Still, CBS' decision has puzzled others in the industry. The exit of a popular late-night host is the kind of thing that might be announced during 'upfront' meetings with advertisers in May, so as to boost interest in the program for its last year on air. Indeed, Johnny Carson unveiled his decision to leave NBC's 'Tonight Show' at a presentation to advertisers in 1991. David Letterman was celebrated at one of CBS' regular upfront spectacles at Carnegie Hall, a decision that helped whet appetites for his last few months on 'Late Show.' Some networks with a big hand in the late-night game continue to gain support for their shows. NBC wooed Allstate, T-Mobile and several other big-spending advertisers to bolster the recently completed 50th season of 'Saturday Night Live.' The network is trying to do the same thing with a new program featuring 'Tonight Show' host Jimmy Fallon called 'On Brand' that has him trying to help market popular products. Colbert will next year wind up a colorful run. When he took over 'Late Show' in 2015, he had to navigate a new role. He was no longer the bloviating conservative character he portrayed on Comedy Central. He had to instead find ways to be his authentic self, even though he had not revealed such a persona to the public in the past. His first months were riddled with scrutiny, and comparisons to the 'Late Late Show' led by James Corden that reveled in games and skits. But Colbert turned a corner in 2016 when he hosted an Election Night special on Showtime and had to entertain a live New York crowd that stared in disbelief at results showing that Donald Trump would triumph over Hillary Clinton. Colbert found his footing that night, and decided to lean heavily into pointed humor about current events. His ratings surged and 'Late Show' has often been TV's most-watched late night program. Is CBS averse to ratings? Or is the money it costs to get them just too dear at a time when streaming video is taking more of traditional TV's audience away? CBS has opted to fill its now-empty 12:30 a.m. slot with old repeats of a syndicated comedy roundtable from media entrepreneur Byron Allen? What will the network do to replace 'The Late Show'? Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples Solve the daily Crossword
