Stephen Colbert responds to cancellation of The Late Show
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 22 July 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
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Summary
Last night, Stephen Colbert responded to CBS’s shocking announcement that The Late Show will end next May. In his monologue, he asked rhetorically, “How could it be purely a financial decision if The Late Show is No. 1 in ratings?” Many are asking the same thing, pointing to shifts in mainstream media from liberal to conservative bias. However, studies show that younger viewers are turning to streaming, video, and social media, while older viewers are staying with broadcast television. So the story could be more about demographics than cultural transformation. Therein lies the larger point I want us to consider today.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good day and welcome to Denison Forum's Daily Article Podcast. We're glad you've joined us. |
| 0:08.1 | I'm Chris Elkins' narrator, voicing today's daily article written by our co-founder, Dr. Jim Denison. |
| 0:16.2 | Last night, Stephen Colbert responded to CBS's shocking announcement that the late show will end next May. |
| 0:24.5 | In his monologue, he cursed President Trump, called himself a martyr, and asked rhetorically, |
| 0:31.2 | how could it be purely a financial decision if the late show is number one in its ratings? |
| 0:36.9 | Many are asking the same thing. CBS stated that it was retiring the late show is number one in its ratings. Many are asking the same thing. CBS stated |
| 0:39.8 | that it was retiring the late show franchise for financial reasons, quote, not related in any way |
| 0:46.4 | to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount, the network's parent company. |
| 0:53.0 | Advertising revenue for the show has dropped 40% since 2018. |
| 0:57.6 | Fifteen years ago, a popular late-night show could earn $100 million a year, but the late show |
| 1:04.5 | has been losing $40 million a year. |
| 1:07.1 | However, the decision came just days after Colbert accused the network owner of bribing President Trump to approve a year. However, the decision came just days after Colbert accused the network owner of bribing |
| 1:12.9 | President Trump to approve a merger. Since Colbert has been such an outspoken critic of the president, |
| 1:19.2 | the announcement sparked speculation that the network might have pulled the plug for political |
| 1:24.2 | reasons. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders responded, |
| 1:28.1 | Stephen Colbert, an extraordinary talent and the most popular late-night show host, |
| 1:33.8 | slams the deal. Days later, he's fired. Do I think this is a coincidence? No. |
| 1:39.7 | Actress Jamie Lee Curtis said, they're trying to silence people, but that won't work. It won't work. We'll |
| 1:45.9 | just get louder. Vox theorized that Cobre's political slant had become too dangerous for late night. |
| 1:53.6 | For his part, President Trump responded on Truth Social, I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. |
| 1:59.7 | His talent was even less than his ratings, end quote. |
| 2:03.4 | However, ESPN and MSNBC veteran Keith Oberman, |
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