Overview
- CBS ended The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and handed the 11:35 p.m. hour to Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed under a paid time‑buy that started after Colbert’s final episodes.
- Nielsen figures show a sharp audience shift with Comics Unleashed drawing about 628,000 viewers on Monday, June 1, while Jimmy Kimmel Live! had 2.185 million and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon had 1.301 million that night.
- Live+3 weekly data for the first full week after Colbert’s exit found the combined one‑hour CBS block averaged roughly 737,000 viewers versus Colbert’s Q1 2026 average of about 2.7 million, a roughly two‑thirds decline.
- Under the time‑buy arrangement Allen’s company pays CBS for the airtime, covers production and sells ads itself, a model CBS says turned roughly $40 million in annual losses into an immediate profit swing reported at about $55 million.
- Beyond the raw ratings, critics and industry observers say the move raises cultural and political questions about ending a long‑running network franchise and could change how late‑night audience flow and affiliate revenue work going forward.