CBS Shifts Late-Night Strategy with Time-Buy Deal:
When “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” ends next month, CBS has decided to switch its 11:35 p.m. show. After local news, ET time slots into a “time-buy” arrangement. After purchasing the time slot, Byron Allen will air two consecutive episodes of his program Comics Unleashed one hour ahead of schedule. This time-buy deal will span the 2026–2027 TV season. In exchange, Allen will continue to rent the 12:37 a.m. time slot for Funny You Should Ask, his company’s humorous game program.
The End of The Late Show Era:
The final edition of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which began in 1993 after David Letterman left NBC to join CBS (after being passed over for The Tonight Show), will air on May 21. Since Letterman’s retirement in 2015, Stephen Colbert has hosted the program. Allen will take up the time slot on May 22, the very next evening.
Byron Allen’s Previous Late-Night Presence:
In recent years, Byron Allen has already paid CBS to air two episodes of Comics Unleashed at 12:37 a.m.; these episodes typically consist of one new episode and one older (library) episode. He first landed this job between 2023 and 2024, right before After Midnight’s January 2024 premiere and after James Corden’s Late Late Show ended. When After Midnight ended in September 2025, he took back the part.
Byron Allen’s Statement and Vision:
Byron Allen, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group, made the following statement:
Twenty years ago, I founded “Comics Unleashed” to provide a forum for my fellow comedians to do what we all love: make people laugh.
He then on, “I truly appreciate that CBS trusted me enough to give our two-hour comedy block—Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask—a spot on their network.” After all, there can never be too much laughter in the world.
Understanding the Time-Buy Model:
Both CBS and Byron Allen have not disclosed the price Allen pays for the 12:37 a.m. slot or the possible extra fee for the 11:35 p.m. slot. A company sells its own advertising during the airtime it borrows from a network under traditional “time-buy” agreements. In other words, CBS will still profit from this hour even if viewership declines after losing its most popular late-night discussion show. Even though Allen is buying time, insiders say Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask will continue to be viewed as national network programming. It is anticipated by CBS that these shows will continue to air late at night on its affiliate stations.
Show Background and Production Details:
From 2006 to 2016, Comics As a syndicated series, Unleashed produced more than 233 episodes. CBS is currently producing new episodes for the 2025–2026 TV season. Its executive producers include Byron Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Jodi Miller, Peter Stein, and Dylan King. In September 2017, Funny You Should Ask made its syndicated debut. The show is hosted by Jon Kelley, and its executive producers include Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Bob Boden, Jodi Miller, Peter Stein, Scott Satin, and Eric Charbonnel.
Allen’s Push for the Prime Slot:
Byron Allen has been pushing for the 11:35 p.m. time slot ever since it was announced that The Late Show would be ending. He said during New York’s Advertising Week in October of last year:
“My hand is already up if they’re searching for a show.” For fifty years, I have been anticipating this moment. I’m spending millions of dollars to prove myself in the 12:35 position.
CBS’s New Profit Strategy:
Instead of having to pay for a costly late-night program, CBS will now profit from the time slot. This shift has made late-night lucrative for CBS, according to network sources, and it might be the beginning of more reasonably priced programming in that genre.
Alternative Options CBS Considered:
After deciding to exit the late-night talk show business, CBS had other options. One was airing reruns of drama shows, similar to its “Crimetime After Primetime” strategy before 1993. Another was extending local news from 11 p.m. to an hour in order to give affiliates an extra 30 minutes. In July of last year, CBS announced that The Late Show would end in May 2026 due to challenges in the late-night industry, claiming it as “purely a financial decision.” The network insisted that Paramount Global’s performance, programming, or other problems had nothing to do with the decision.
Controversy and Political Reactions:
But everyone laughed at that excuse. At the time, government approval was needed for Skydance Media to purchase Paramount Global. Some predicted that the move would be seen as an attempt to appease authorities because Colbert had publicly opposed Donald Trump. Just days earlier, Colbert had referred to Paramount’s $16 million arrangement with Trump as “a big fat bribe”. Soon after, Trump posted on social media that he was “extremely happy” Colbert had been fired. In a Variety column, Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned the timing of the show’s cancellation and whether it was due to political pressure, likening the situation to “open bribery.”
Industry Backlash and Support for Colbert:
Following the issue, the Writers Guild of America asked the Attorney General of New York to investigate allegations of bribery against Paramount. Fortunately, Colbert won the 2025 Variety Talk Emmy, and his late-night rival Jimmy Kimmel even used a billboard to show popular support. In an interview with GQ, Colbert said, “I can see why people could feel that way,” but he did not directly answer whether CBS behaved to placate Trump. CBS or its parent company decided to write a $16 million cheque to the President of the United States in response to a lawsuit that their own lawyers found to be baseless.
David Letterman’s Strong Criticism:
But Letterman objected to how CBS handled Colbert. On his YouTube channel, he said:
This is outright cowardice. They behaved immorally. Stephen Colbert, the network’s face, did not receive the respect he merited.
He also posted a supercut of a video mocking CBS with the comment, “You can’t spell CBS without BS.”
Additional Controversy Over Blocked Interview:
More criticism was directed at CBS when it stopped The Late Show from running an interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico in February, supposedly due to fear of possible FCC action. Rather, the interview was posted on YouTube and other websites, where it was viewed over 9.3 million times.