"It just wasn’t sustainable to continue" - CBS head George Cheeks opens on his decision to cancel Stephen Colbert's late-night show

CBS head George Cheeks has finally broken his silence on the end of CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Cheeks, speaking at a news conference shortly after the Paramount–Skydance merger was completed, said that there was a "significant secular decline" in the late-night advertising market as a main reason for canceling the show.

Cheeks said:

“The challenge in late night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline. We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show, unfortunately the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”

George Cheeks explained that the decision coincided with upcoming contract renegotiations for The Late Show's writers and producers. The program was approaching the third season of Colbert's three year contract, which would need certain changes to long standing contractual conditions.

He explained:

“We were at a period from a production standpoint where every year seasonally, this is [when] we negotiate new deals for writers and producers. In addition, this is going to be the third season of Colbert’s three-year deal. So, in order to do those deals, we were going to have to change the terms from what they traditionally are, September to August to September to May. It was incumbent upon me and us to make it clear to Stephen and his reps that this is where we were.”

He added:

“At the end of the day, it just wasn’t sustainable to continue.”

The news sparked the attention of former U.S. President Donald Trump, a regualr subject of Colbert's monologues. On Truth Social, Trump described Colbert as "talentless" and predicted that other late-night hosts, such as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, will have their shows canceled.

However, CBS has insisted that the decision was solely business related and had nothing to do with the show's political tone.

George Cheeks' expanded role

George Cheeks was promoted to Chair of TV Media as a result of the Paramount-Skydance merger, where he oversaw CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, and other networks. This restructure also gave Cheeks control over South Park, an animated satirical show which constantly attacks government officials and sometimes, its own network.

South Park was previously part of Dana Goldberg's scripted programming group, but it stays with Cheeks because it airs on both Comedy Central's linear cable platform and Paramount+.

The timing is noteworthy as this marks the show's 27th season and their season opener which was released on July 23 drew Comedy Central's greatest ratings in over 25 years. The show's content doubled down on biting political humor, provoking a response from the White House. Cheeks now manages a program with a five year, $1.5 billion overall agreement that guarantees 50 additional episodes, many of which will be available on Paramount+.

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With no official announcement of which show will replace The Late Show, George Cheeks responded that it was "too early to speculate."

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