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Last week we learned that Stephen Colbert's late night show had been canceled.
The network’s bombshell announcement late Thursday that the “Late Show” will end next May takes away President Donald Trump’s most prominent TV critic and the most popular entertainment program in its genre.
There's a lot of unanswered questions as CBS parent company Paramount is seeking the Trump administration’s approval of its merger with Skydance Media. But this decision may have little to do with Trump or the acquisition.
The television industry’s declining economic health means similar hard calls are already being made with personalities and programming.
“This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” the company wrote in a statement. “It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Networks and streamers spent roughly $70 billion on entertainment shows and $30 billion for sports rights last year, said Brian Wieser, CEO of Madison & Wall, an advertising consultant and data services firm. Live sports is the most dependable magnet for viewers and costs for its rights are expected to increase 8% a year over the next decade. With television viewership declining in general, it’s clear where savings will have to come from.
Jimmy Fallon's NBC late night show could experience the same fate.
While there have been significant shifts in the late-night TV landscape, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" is not in immediate danger of being canceled.
ADWEEK data seems to back this notion up.
Data from Guideline shared with ADWEEK noted that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! combined for around $404 million in linear TV ad revenue in 2018. That dropped by half to around $200 million in 2024. Meanwhile, The Late Show had around $121 million in linear TV ad spend in 2018; however, it had around only $70 million total in 2024, a decline of 42% per the data.
The Measure noted that, so far this year, brands have spent an estimated $32.2 million in advertising on The Late Show. Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are higher, taking in over $50 million each. Some of that comes down to Kimmel having more commercials overall, with The Late Show featuring more network promos.
Fallon already has a backup plan should his show meet the same untimely demise as Colbert's.
He's got Royal Kingdom, a sweepstakes-like puzzle game. If you've ever seen the commercials, one has to believe this gaming company is paying Fallon a royal penny to promote them. He can't come cheap.
Fallon reportedly earned around $1 million for his appearance in the Royal Kingdom ad campaign. We might not shed a tear for Fallon if he loses his night job but it'll still be brutal. Fallon’s annual salary hosting The Tonight Show is estimated at about $16 million per year.
Royal Kingdom is a casual mobile match-3 puzzle game similar to Royal Match. It involves solving match-3 puzzles, building kingdoms, and engaging in light meta-progression elements. And like the sweepstakes casino model, it is free to play, up to a point. In-app purchases are incorporated. Those are what presumably help to pay Fallon's salary.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
