Overview

• CBS announced The Late Show will conclude in May 2026, citing annual losses of roughly $40–50 million driven by declining late-night ad revenues.
• President George Cheeks and other executives described the decision as a purely financial one unrelated to the show’s ratings or content.
• The Writers Guild of America has urged New York’s attorney general to probe whether the cancellation was a bribe linked to Paramount’s Trump settlement.
• Senator Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers noted that the cancellation came just days after Colbert publicly criticized the $16 million payment as a “bribe.”
• Peers including Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel have voiced skepticism of the network’s financial rationale, and CBS is among networks reducing late-night spending as advertising revenue falls across the sector.