Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sources inside CBS have suddenly become much more forthcoming about the sobering economics of late-night television in 2025—go figure— revealing that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has recently been running at an annual shortfall of $40 million.

If that sounds unthinkable for the #1 rated show at 11:35pm, consider this: as Matt Belloni reports today in Puck, back in 2018, all of late-night television combined generated $438 million in advertising revenue. By 2023, that number had been cut in half, and it has continued to fall.

Given that The Late Show—with its handsomely paid host and a staff of roughly 200 employees—reportedly costs CBS $100 million per year to produce, that $40 million figure becomes easier to understand.

Belloni also reports that CBS executives had been discussing the future of its Late Show franchise for months, and that Colbert’s team was informed around July Fourth that the show was in jeopardy.

As Colbert shared with viewers during Thursday’s cold open, he was informed of the network’s decision decision to cancel the show Wednesday night. According to reporting, CBS had not planned to go public just yet, but Colbert pushed to announce it to his staff Thursday and acknowledge it on air later that evening, rather than risk leaks.

While CBS insists the cancellation was strictly a financial decision—unrelated to Colbert’s antagonistic relationship with Trump, his recent on-air criticism of Paramount’s recent $16 million settlement with the president, and/or the company’s pending sale to Trump ally David Ellison’s Skydance Media—the timing has drawn scrutiny from viewers, the media, and even some lawmakers.

Colbert’s last episode of The Late Show will air in May 2026. An exact date has not yet been announced.

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