CBS CEO George Cheeks claims the cancellation of "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert was a "purely financial decision." But the hard numbers say otherwise.

As Lukas Alpert points out in MarketWatch, while TV ad revenues may be down 21 % in Q1 2025, much of that decline stems from the absence of Super Bowl ads, not a collapse in CBS’s late‑night earnings. Indeed, "The Late Show" was still the undisputed ratings leader in its time slot, with Colbert’s loyal audience returning nightly and even earning Emmy nominations.

So why kill the cash cow? This wasn’t economics − it was cowardice.

Alpert deftly highlights that Colbert’s run was "only recently" deep in the red. If CBS truly cared about the bottom line, it had myriad options: trim his show to four nights a week, renegotiate costs, gobble up streaming revenue, or billboard fund it. Instead, Cheeks delivered the ultimate soft exit: a quiet Friday afternoon release and vague statements, then folded the entire franchise with a limp of "It’s just business."

Hardly.

Stephen Colbert hosts "The Late Show" on June 25, 2025.

CBS didn't ax Colbert because the format is dying

Financial strains are real. Reuters tells us ad slots on late-night TV have fallen 40% since 2018, and Colbert’s audience dipped from 3.1 million in 2017-18 to around 1.9 million now. But CBS didn’t ax his show because the format is dying − it killed it because someone, somewhere, whispered "Trump."

The cancellation came in the wake of Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Donald Trump over a controversial "60 Minutes" segment − a deal Colbert publicly castigated as a "big fat bribe." Then, out of nowhere, Cheeks "replaced" critical thinking with financial boilerplate. The timing is no coincidence.

If true fiscal responsibility demanded Colbert’s ouster, why not cannibalize lower-performing slots first? Why retire a flagship after one of its strongest seasons? Clearly, this is about bodies that talk back − and one that just got too loud at the worst possible time.

Cheeks wants applause for "bold leadership." Instead, he demonstrated spinelessness: doling out PR lines while retreating from independent thought. He’s not protecting shareholders; he’s shielding CBS from political blowback. He’s not navigating economic headwinds; he’s avoiding uncomfortable truths. Media historian Troy Brown once said, "institutions die when they fail the canary in the coal mine" − Cheeks allowed the canary to go silent.

And he did it with a smile.

George Cheeks silenced CBS

Politicians and pundits smell it, too. Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Adam Schiff have demanded transparency. The Writers Guild has called for an investigation into whether this was a structural threat to free speech.

President Donald Trump has celebrated the end of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which has frequently criticized his administrations.

But Cheeks appeared unperturbed. His message was clear: Don’t look at us.

No. We are looking. And we are holding to account.

Cheeks didn’t make a tough choice − he made a cowardly one. He dulled the edge of late-night comedy, dimmed a cultural institution, and told viewers: Play the game − or get out. Late-night isn’t just entertainment. It’s one of the last remaining platforms where institutions can still hold power to account − and CBS just neutered its loudest voice.

George Cheeks didn’t lead CBS. He silenced it.