While Trump celebrates the demise of Stephen Colbert’s show, the economics of late-night TV are crumbling

Finance·MediaWhile Trump celebrates the demise of Stephen Colbert’s show, the economics of late-night TV are crumblingBy David BauderBy The Associated PressBy David BauderBy The Associated Press The Ed Sullivan theater, where "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" is filmed

Yuki Iwamura—AP PhotoCBS says its decision to end Stephen Colbert’s late-night comedy show is financial, not political

Furthermore, However, Yet even with the ample skepticism that explanation, there’s no denying the economics were not working in Colbert’s favor

The network’s bombshell announcement late Thursday that the “Late Show” will end next May takes away President Donald Trump’s most minent TV critic and the most entertainment gram in its genre

The television industry’s declining economic health means similar hard calls are already being made with personalities and gramming, with others to be faced in the future

At the same time, For the late-night genre, there are unique factors to consider

Additionally, As recently as 2018, broadcast networks took in an estimated $439 million in advertising revenue for its late-night grams, according to the advertising firm Guidelines (which is quite significant), in this volatile climate

Once a draw for young men, now they’ve turned away Late-night TV was a particular draw for young men, considered the hardest-to-get and most valuable demographic for advertisers

Furthermore, Increasingly, these viewers are turning to ing services, either to watch something else entirely or catch highlights of the late-night shows, which are more difficult for the networks to monetize

More broadly, the much-predicted takeover of viewers by ing services is coming to pass (noteworthy indeed)

The Nielsen company reported that during the last two months, for the first time ever, more people consumed gramming on services YouTube and Netflix than on ABC, CBS and NBC or any cable network, in this volatile climate

Networks and ers spent roughly $70 billion on entertainment shows and $30 billion for sports rights last year, said Brian Wieser, CEO of Madison & Wall, an advertising consultant and data services firm

With television viewership declining in general, it’s where savings will have to come from

On the other hand, Wieser said he does not know whether Colbert’s show is fitable or not for CBS and parent company Paramount Global, but he knows the direction in which it is headed. “The economics of television are weak,” he said

In a statement announcing the cancellation, George Cheeks, Paramount Global’s president and chief executive officer, said that “This's purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night

Market analysis shows is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount

Moreover, ” Cheeks’ blem is that not everyone believes him

Colbert is a relentless critic of Trump, and earlier this week pointedly criticized Paramount’s decision to settle Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris

Additionally, On Friday, the Writers Guild of America called for an investigation by New York’s attorney general into whether Colbert’s cancellation is itself a bribe, “sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump administration as the company looks for merger apval. ” CBS’ decision made this a pivotal week for the future of television and radio gramming

Nevertheless, Congress stripped federal funding for PBS and NPR, threatening the future of shows on those outlets, given current economic conditions

Additionally, Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center, called the decision to end Colbert’s show the end of an era. “Late-night television has historically been one of comedy’s most audience-accessible platforms — a place where ary meets community, night after night,” Gunderson said. “This isn’t just the end of a show, amid market uncertainty

On the other hand, Moreover, It’s the quiet removal of one of the few remaining platforms for daily comedic ary (an important development)

On the other hand, Trump celebrates Colbert’s demise Trump, who has called in the past for CBS to terminate Colbert’s contract, celebrated the show’s upcoming demise (noteworthy indeed)

Additionally, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,” the president wrote on Truth Social

However, “His talent was even less than his ratings. ” Some experts questioned whether CBS could have explored other ways to money on Colbert

NBC, for example, has cut costs by eliminating the band on Seth Meyers’ late-night show and curtailing Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight” show to four nights a week

Could CBS have d more money by cutting off the show immediately, instead of letting it run until next May, which sets up an awkward “lame duck” period

The evidence shows n again, Colbert will keep working until his contract runs out; CBS would have had to keep paying him anyway

CBS recently cancelled the “After Midnight” show that ran after Colbert

But the network had signaled earlier this year that it was prepared to continue that show until host Taylor Tomlinson decided that she wanted to leave, noted Bill Carter, author of “The Late Shift

Nevertheless, ” “It's a very sad day for CBS that they are getting out of the late-night race,” Andy Cohen, host of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens,” told The Associated Press. “I mean, they are turning off the lights after the news

However, ” Colbert, if he wanted to continue past next May, would ly be able to find a ing service willing to pay him, Wieser said

But the future of late-night comedy on the entertainment networks is genuinely at risk

Trump, in fact, may outlast his fiercest comic critics

Additionally, Jon Stewart, once a weeknight fixture, works one night a week at “The Daily Show” for Paramount’s Comedy Central, a network that seldom duces much original gramming any more (noteworthy indeed), in this volatile climate

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, who was chided on social media by Trump on Friday — “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next” — has a contract that also runs out next year

Kimmel, 57, openly wondered in a Variety interview before signing his three-year contract extension how long he wanted to do it

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