00:00Hey everybody, Stephen Colbert here.
00:02The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, cancelled.
00:04Hi, it's Jimmy. And when I am stressed, I like to cook.
00:08Jimmy Camille Live, suspended indefinitely.
00:10I gotta talk quick before he comes back.
00:12Two of America's biggest late-night talk shows are off the air.
00:16So, what's the reason? Is it money, politics, or the way audiences have changed?
00:20Let's break it down.
00:22Late-night talk shows were once central to US television.
00:25From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno, the refined American TV culture
00:28mixing celebrity interviews with char political satire.
00:31But today, the economy has collapsed.
00:33The systematic destruction of free speech in this country.
00:37The Late Show with Stephen Colbert averaged about 2.5 million viewers in the 2024-25 season.
00:42Still the most-watched late-night show.
00:44Yet, reports indicate that it was losing between $40 and $50 million every year.
00:49CBS confirmed a cancellation effective May 2026 and said no replacement is planned.
00:54Other networks are also cutting back.
00:56NBC shortened The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon from five nights a week to four.
01:01CBS canceled The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2023.
01:05And then came ABC's decision on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
01:08It is Donald Trump using the power of the White House to try to shut down any speech that opposes him.
01:15In September 2025, affiliates including Sinclair and Nextstar pulled to the show after Kimmel's remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death.
01:23Politics is at the center of the story.
01:26In the Trump years, late-night hosts became political commentators.
01:29Colbert's nightly monologues targeting Donald Trump made him a liberal icon and boosted ratings.
01:35Jimmy Kimmel became known for emotional appeals on issues like healthcare and gun control.
01:3997% of the stories on the networks are banned.
01:44By 2025, late-night was caught in a bind.
01:47Too political to win advertisers back but too expensive to sustain on shrinking audiences.
01:52But here's the bigger question.
01:54How relevant are late-night shows in today's time?
01:56Even when they are on air, most people don't watch them live at midnight.
02:00TikTok comedians, YouTube talk shows and celebrity podcasts now fill the space late-night once occupied.
02:06And what about India?
02:07The late-night format has been tried here as well.
02:10In 1997, Shafer Simmons' movers and shakers brought the US-style format to Indian TV.
02:14It was a hit for a while but could not last.
02:17Cyrus Brocha's The Week That Wasn't survived for 17 years before being cancelled in 2023.
02:22Advertisers preferred safe content and with India's TV landscape dominated by family dramas and news debates,
02:28late-night comedy never became part of daily viewing habits.
02:31So the question has an answer.
02:33Money, politics and changing audiences together explain why late-night is fading on television even as it thrives online.
02:40Follow more for more no-fluff experiences like this.
02:43I'm Manisha Diwari.
02:45First things fast.
02:46This is a moment for the country to mobilize.
02:48This is a moment for all of us to be out in the streets protesting.
02:51Let's go get them.
02:52Long.
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