CBS said the audience collapse does not hurt its economics because Allen’s “time buy” turns an hour losing about $40 million annually into $15 million in profit — a $55 million swing.
$15 million is the fee Allen pays for the 11:35 p.m. slot, while he covers production costs and keeps the advertising revenue from the show.
The network’s renewed defense of the switch keeps pressure on its claim that canceling Colbert was purely financial, after critics tied the move to his attack on CBS’s $16 million Trump settlement.
Is Byron Allen’s cost-cutting model the future of late-night TV, or a sign of creative decline for major networks?
Byron Allen is buying BuzzFeed and saving CBS, but can his debt-laden empire truly challenge giants like YouTube and Disney?