Media mogul Byron Allen’s long-running comedy roundtable Comics Unleashed has replaced Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show in the prestigious 11:35 p.m. slot on CBS, fulfilling a 51-year personal goal for Allen.
In a wide-ranging NPR Newsmakers interview, Allen expressed excitement about the opportunity but made clear he has no plans to alter his established formula to chase Colbert’s former audience of more than 2.5 million viewers per episode.
No changes, no controversy, no corporate boundaries
When pressed on the show’s modest ratings (4.3/10 on IMDb) and whether he would adjust the format to “meet the moment,” Allen responded bluntly: “Absolutely not.” He emphasized that Comics Unleashed, now celebrating 20 years and over 1,000 comedians, features diverse performers but deliberately avoids political, racist, sexist, or homophobic material. “We are doing a show with nothing political… Just clean comedy,” he said.
Allen stated he has had no conversations with CBS or Paramount about content boundaries. If they ever tried to impose restrictions, he said he would reply: “Guys, enjoy the 150 million I save you” — while noting he also pays the network additional millions.
“It’s not show business. It’s business show.”
Allen repeatedly framed his career through a business lens. Though he began as a comedian (appearing on Johnny Carson at age 18), he shifted focus to ownership. He has launched or acquired 74 television shows and currently airs more than 13 hours a day of first-run programming.
“We have plenty of corporations out here who make money off of our style, our creativity, our swagger, but that’s over,” he said.
Media mogul strategy: Buy low, build scale
Allen has a pattern of acquiring distressed media assets — attempting to buy BET and VH1 in the past, bidding for Paramount, and recently taking a majority stake in BuzzFeed. He described his approach as buying companies “in the lobby and take them to the penthouse,” while chasing the scale of Disney and Murdoch.“I love business. I live for business,” he said. “I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. I don’t play golf… My passion is busines.”