CBS’s cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has sparked two theories.
One views it as a unique move tied to Paramount’s $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media, approved by the FCC on July 24, 2025, after prolonged delays. The other sees it as the start of late-night TV’s decline. The fate of Disney’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with Kimmel’s contract expiring in 2026, will clarify the genre’s future.
Unlike Colbert, Kimmel’s show, a staple since 2003, doubles as a marketing platform for Disney’s Marvel, Star Wars, and animated projects, with its 20 million YouTube subscribers (compared to Fallon’s 32 million, Colbert’s 10 million, and Meyers’ 5 million) amplifying its reach.
Kimmel’s roles hosting the Academy Awards, ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Disney’s Upfronts may make him more vital to Disney than Colbert was to CBS. Still, Colbert’s exit highlights the pressures on traditional TV and raises doubts about late-night’s viability in a shifting media landscape.