CBS—THE BEST, THE LAMENTABLE, THE MIDDLING PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1 WE SAVORED CBS RADIO WORKSHOP and enjoyed entertaining CBS corporate suits through the R&T slalom. Today, lamentably enough, we recount CBS actions that seemingly replace freedom in communications with good old fashioned greed.

A Recent Worst Detailed. John Koblin reports “CBS Canceling ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ After Next Season,” The New York Times, July 18, 2025. This, after more than three decades of Colbert’s now most-watched show in late-night tv.

Koblin writes, “CBS executives said in a statement that the cancellation 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,’ said the executives, who included George Cheeks, the president of CBS and a co-chief executive of Paramount, CBS’s parent. ‘Our admiration, affection and respect for the talents of Stephen Colbert and his incredible team made this agonizing decision even more difficult.’ ”

Koblin adds, “Paramount is in the midst of closing a multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance, a deal that requires approval from the Trump administration. Paramount recently agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over an interview on ’60 Minutes,’ a move Mr. Colbert criticized on his show as ‘a big fat bribe.’ The merger still requires the approval of the Federal Communications Commission.”

Hmm…. I am reminded of Henry David Thoreau’s sentiment that “Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find trout in the milk.” 

Blame Streaming. Brian Stelter offers details “Inside CBS’ ‘Agonizing Decision’ to Cancel Colbert’s Top-Rated Late-Night Show,” CNN, July 18, 2025. In particular, Stelter writes, “The bottom has indeed been falling out of the late-night TV business model for several years now. Audience fragmentation and digital competition have led to a decline in ad revenue across the board. One insider described it as ‘cratering’ at CBS.”

Stelter recounts, “ ‘Ad dollars and audiences are moving away from late night shows,’ Variety reported—and that was back in 2023. The financial picture has only gotten gloomier since then. Guideline, an ad data firm, estimates that the networks’ late-night shows earned $439 million in ad revenue in 2018 and only $220 million in 2024—a decline of 50 percent.”

Live Versus Streamed. Stelter notes, “The shows are also an awkward fit on streaming platforms since they tend to be topical, limiting the shelf life of the content. Colbert’s commentaries and interviews often go viral on social media, but that attention isn’t easily converted into cold, hard cash since CBS doesn’t control the social platforms.”

A Liberal View. David Sims discusses “Why CBS Snatched Its Talk-Show King’s Crown,” The Atlantic, July 18, 2025. Sims observes, “It’s hard to know what could possibly take over for The Late Show when it vanishes in mid-2026. Sitcom reruns? Movies you could just as easily catch on Netflix?”

“The point of network television,” Sims observes, “is to offer something that has a live jolt to it—sports, stand-up, the occasional drama or comedy shows that become appointment viewing. As the medium dissolves from relevance, its owners instead seem content not to create anything of cultural importance. The Late Show is not the juggernaut it once was, sure. But what’s most tragic is to think of it being replaced by nothing at all.”

Even Fox News Laments. Gabriel Hays writes, “Liberals, Journalists, and Celebs ‘Extremely Sad’ Over Late-Night Ally Colbert Getting the Boot from CBS,” Fox News, July 18, 2025. The subhead reads, “They are ‘torching the Late Show, an institution, solely to appease a dictator,’ ex-NBC reporter frets.”

The truth hurts. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025