What Killed 'The Late Show'?

《深夜秀》的陨落之谜?

The Journal.

2025-07-26

22 分钟
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Last week, CBS cancelled “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The network said that ending the show was “purely a financial decision.” Over the years, late-night audiences and profits have dwindled. But some fans have suggested the move was partly political: CBS pulled the plug just days after Colbert criticized Paramount, CBS’s parent company, for agreeing to settle a lawsuit with President Trump for $16 million. WSJ’s Joe Flint delves into the controversy and the economics of late-night TV. Annie Minoff hosts. Further Listening: -Will Paramount Settle With Trump? -Why Buying Paramount Global Won't Be Easy  -’Love Is Blind' Is Back. Not All the Drama Is On-Screen. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  • Last week, fans of late night television got some bad news.

  • Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night.

  • Next year will be our last season.

  • CBS was canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

  • Our colleague Joe Flint covers the media.

  • Stephen Colbert announced to his audience that his show would be ending when his contract expires next May,

  • May of 2026.

  • The audience was very, you know, booing and cat calls and not happy about it.

  • And he basically said, I'm right there with you.

  • And he said, all this is going away, meaning the late night business.

  • Yeah, I share your feelings.

  • 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.

  • In a statement, CBS said the move to cancel the late show was, quote, purely a financial decision.

  • And Joe says that the finances of late night are tough.

  • We've been hearing for a long time about the challenges in late night television.

  • Audiences are smaller, ad revenue is down.

  • These are issues affecting a lot of shows.

  • But the idea that the number one rated late night show in Colbert would be just have the plug pulled out and not just him CBS is getting out of a late night business So it's not like we're ending the Colbert show to go with a cheaper option.