Jimmy Kimmel doubts CBS $40 million loss claim for Late Show

The cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" last month has sparked a pointed critique from fellow host Jimmy Kimmel, who disputes the network's financial rationale and describes an industry "being poisoned." CBS announced the show's end in July 2025, citing prohibitive costs, and confirmed last week that the program was losing roughly $40 million annually.

In a recent interview, Kimmel strongly challenged that accounting. He pointed to CBS having offered Colbert a five-year contract extension in 2023, which the host ultimately negotiated down to three years. Kimmel questioned how the show could suddenly be losing tens of millions annually shortly after such an offer was made. "Am I to believe that over the course of those two years, they suddenly started losing $40 million a year?" Kimmel asked. "These are just made-up numbers."

Kimmel argued that late-night television remains popular when combining traditional ratings with online viewership. "There are far more people watching late-night TV than there ever were," he said. "We're not just dying of natural causes. We're being poisoned." He did not specify what he believes is poisoning the format.