There are some suggesting that, with Colbert criticizing CBS’ parent company Paramount, that the big wigs didn’t like it and that’s why they are cancelling the show.

But CBS says the decision is purely financial, and here’s some of the numbers which leads one to conclude they aren’t lying.

Via Puck News:

Canceling a money-losing program does not rise to the level of a “material decision” that must be run by the new regime, and Late Show has been losing more than $40 million a year for CBS (though that doesn’t include some ancillary revenue). While the show still garners an average of 2.47 million viewers a night, leads its 11:35 rivals in total audience, and just this week was nominated for its ninth consecutive Emmy for outstanding talk/variety series, its ad revenue has plummeted precipitously since the 2021-22 season.

Linear ratings are down everywhere, of course, and as the Times reported, the network late-night shows took in $439 million combined in ad revenue in 2018. By last year, though, that figure had dropped by 50 percent. Measure that against the more than $100 million per season it costs to produce Late Show. By contrast, the CBS primetime and daytime dayparts are still profitable, and that programming is supported by robust license fees for streaming and other off-network viewing. Late Show, with its topical humor and celebrity interviews pegged to specific projects, has struggled on Paramount+. And of the three network late-night shows, Late Show has by far the smallest digital footprint on YouTube and other platforms.

So from a business perspective, the cancellation makes sense…

Joe Concha says the numbers to produce Colbert’s show are actually closer to $130 million:

$130 million to be exact. And we’re not even adding Colbert’s monster salary and those of more than 100 staffers.

Good breakdown here: https://t.co/ZxM5OtbmyO

— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) July 18, 2025

In other words his show is losing money BIG TIME, and with the pending acquisition of Paramount by Skydance, they’ve got to cut their loses.

It is funny and ironic that Colbert’s show was cancelled on the same night that Republicans defunded PBS and NPR.