CBS Defends Byron Allen Time Buy, Discloses Financials On ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’s Annual Loss & ‘Comics Unleashed’s Profit
CBS has defended its decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, revealing that the show lost approximately $40 million annually. The network has entered a 'time buy' agreement with Byron Allen for his new show, Comics Unleashed, which is expected to generate a profit of $15 million per year. This shift is part of CBS's strategy to address financial losses in late-night programming amid declining ad revenues.
- ▪CBS disclosed that The Late Show lost about $40 million a year.
- ▪Byron Allen is paying $15 million a year for a 'time buy' of the 11:30 PM hour.
- ▪Comics Unleashed drew 995,000 viewers on its debut night, significantly lower than Colbert's finale viewership of 6.74 million.
3 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 1 hour. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: lean left. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.
- ▪ CBS Says Late-Night Deal With Byron Allen Will Generate $15 Million in Profit — Variety
- ▪ CBS Says Late Night Will Now Turn a $15 Million Profit After Byron Allen’s Time Buy — The Hollywood Reporter
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| Original publisher | Deadline |
| Canonical URL | https://deadline.com/2026/05/cbs-statement-byron-allen-late-show-stephen-colbert-loss-1236929852/ |
| Publication time | Fri, 29 May 2026 00:49:40 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-29T00:59:38.922Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-29T00:59:38.922Z |
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| Cluster | THVyjLT3SWZZ · 3 stories |
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Stephen Colbert and Byron Allen CBS Amid continuing speculation about political motivation behind CBS‘ decision to cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and a soft ratings launch for its successor, Byron Allen‘s Comics Unleashed, the network issued a statement Thursday. In it, CBS for the first time revealed the balance sheet for The Late Show, claiming that it lost about $40 million a year, a number that had been widely circulated. The network also disclosed that Allen is paying $15 million a year as a “time buy,” meaning that he is leasing the 11:30 PM hour from CBS and selling its ad inventory himself in search of profit. That is a flat fee for the network not contingent on the show’s performance (which would impact Allen’s ad rates).
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