Report: The next two late-night hosts who could face axing
Two late-night mainstays could find themselves on the chopping block after helping NBC lose an eye-watering $100 million-plus per year. The shows of longtime hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, combined with the network's iconic sketch comedy series SNL, have created the nine-figure shortfall, it was reported this week.
NBC officially declined to comment on the reported losses. But an insider told the Daily Mail that the three shows are actually losing closer to half that amount when taking into account revenue generated through sources like streaming and digital - though conceded they're still in the red. The news come days after CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, amid reports his program was losing $40 million per year.
Many, including Colbert - a longtime critic of President Donald Trump - cited political motivations in the decision to pull the plug. But as the speculation swirls over CBS's decision, industry experts told the Daily Mail that NBC's silence on its own hosts' futures speaks volumes.
'They're letting the narrative take hold that Colbert was canceled purely for political reasons - and that works in their favor. It distracts from the financial bloodbath happening across the late-night industry,' said Rob Shuter, a veteran media columnist and author of Naughty But Nice.
' NBC isn't denying the $100 million [loss] because if everyone's talking about politics, they're not talking about whether these shows are even sustainable anymore.' Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, agreed. 'NBC would want people to think that CBS canceled Colbert for political reasons, not viewership,' he said. After news of Colbert's cancellation emerged, the host called himself a 'martyr' and told Trump to 'Go [expletive] yourself' as the president gloated publicly over the decision.
Colbert had previously ripped the decision by CBS' parent company, Paramount Global, to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit he filed over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris . The settlement was seen by many as a necessary move by the company to earn the Trump administration's approval of its $8 million merger with Skydance. Colbert more bluntly called it 'a big, fat bribe.'
Colbert's Late Show has drawn hundreds of thousands more viewers than his closest late-night competitor, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, whose show has remained profitable when non-traditional TV advertising revenue is taken into account, a source told CNBC.
And while Kimmel and Meyers have been more aggressive in taking on Trump, Fallon has avoided the pile-on. 'If you're really making these deals Paramount are making, Colbert, Kimmel, and Meyers come off as a one-trick pony,' Thompson said.
'Fallon was the only one who didn't completely alter their brand to make fun of the president.' Shuter said Fallon's style could ultimately end up saving his skin - but not forever.
'Fallon didn't pivot hard into anti-Trump satire, and that may have bought him time. But let's be clear - this isn't about politics anymore. It's about money,' he said. 'The moment a format stops printing cash, the ideology behind it becomes a footnote.'
