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The Real Lesson of Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel
Real Clear Politics ^ | October 08, 2025 | Kenin Spivak

Posted on 10/08/2025 11:24:18 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

The roiling kerfuffle in late night network television demonstrates how confused, hypocritical, and angry Americans have become.

Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel should have been canceled long ago. They have little interest in creating a comforting diversion for all Americans, which used to be the reason for late night television. Instead, their goals are to advance progressive causes and bash anyone who disagrees. In doing so, they long ago lost most conservatives, many centrists, and even sympathetic viewers who wanted relaxation, not divisive politics.

But the real rub is that their self-indulgence isn’t good for business.

In the second quarter of 2025, Colbert led late night with an average of 2.42 million viewers, followed by Kimmel with 1.77 million and Jimmy Fallon with 1.19 million. This is down a combined 43% from 2015. In the 18-49 demographic coveted by advertisers, the loss is a calamitous 70% to 80% (Kimmel is down 77%). According to Guideline, advertising collapsed by half over the last decade.

This hemorrhaging is due to numerous factors, including Gen Z and millennial cord-cutting, and the continued fracturing of network audiences. But the blatant partisanship didn’t help. It alienates half the audience and, in the end, isn’t all that funny.

Industry sources suggest that Colbert’s “Late Show” now loses about $40 million each year, which hardly justifies his estimated $15 million to $20 million salary and excessive staff of 200 producers, writers, and camera operators. In the face of such dismal numbers, the vitriolic condemnation of CBS and its parents Paramount Global and Skydance Media for allegedly caving to the Trump administration, and purportedly infringing on Colbert’s First Amendment rights by canceling his money-loser with 10 months’ notice, is conspicuously misplaced. Strangely, there has been no suggestion that Colbert reduce his staff or take a pay cut, though there...

(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
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1 posted on 10/08/2025 11:24:18 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

He’s right about these clowns but should have mentioned Gutfeld’s ~3 million nightly viewers, which kicks all of their lame asses.


2 posted on 10/08/2025 11:30:44 AM PDT by mikey_hates_everything
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
He's absolutely right about all of it...including that the FCC Commissioner should have kept his big yapper shut rather than threatening licenses. All that did was give the Democrats the convenient boogeyman of "government censorship" to distract people from the other perfectly valid reasons for Kimmel to be taken off the air.

As I've said here a million times, one of the reason independents when to Trump in 2024 was they didn't like the "lawfare" and other Democrat attempts to silence dissent. I'd be really careful about letting the desire to revenge lead the Trump Administration to make that exact same mistake.

3 posted on 10/08/2025 12:49:41 PM PDT by Bruce Campbells Chin ( )
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To: Bruce Campbells Chin
I agree about being careful about lawfare.

But the FCC Commissioner DID use restraint, in my opinion.  A prominent late night comedian had insulted the memory of a just-murdered young American (Charlie Kirk) who could easily have become President someday. 

Also, the companies who deliver the "last mile" broadcast television in local markets took the ABC show off the air due to public complaints.

Nothing's to prevent Kimmel and others from taking their shows off the broadcast network and fully onto the internet.  In fact, according to Google's research:

The bandwidth that the national broadcast access is a limited resource due to the physics of transmitting over-the-air TV signals.   The internet is not so restrained.

4 posted on 10/08/2025 3:56:08 PM PDT by poconopundit (Kash Patel, his portrait's in Webster's next to the word "gangbusters". Go Kash go! Love ya man!)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

IMO there was/is only ONE late night host/comedian.

That was Johnny Carson. NO ONE, I mean NO ONE, has or could fill his shoes. Many have tried, Including the two clowns in this article, but NONE of them come even close.

“Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show for nearly 30 years, from October 1, 1962, until his final episode on May 22, 1992. This iconic late-night talk show made him a television legend during his decades-long reign as host.”


5 posted on 10/08/2025 4:21:40 PM PDT by faucetman (Just the facts, ma'am, Just the facts )
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To: poconopundit
But even if it was justified - and I don't believe a throwaway line by a comedian, however offensive, meets the standard to withdraw a broadcast license - what did it actually accomplish?

Obviously no such license revocation ever happened, so it didn't accomplish anything concrete. It also generated very tepid support from most Republicans, and criticism even from friendly media, which did not go unnoticed. I don't see any impact other than overshadowing the comment itself and helping De.ocrats, and then throwing a bit of raw meat to those who already were hard core for going after leftists anyway.

6 posted on 10/08/2025 7:10:23 PM PDT by Bruce Campbells Chin ( )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

.


7 posted on 10/08/2025 7:21:54 PM PDT by sauropod
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Evil tends to slip back.


8 posted on 10/09/2025 12:44:16 AM PDT by If You Want It Fixed - Fix It
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To: Bruce Campbells Chin

You may indeed be right...


9 posted on 10/09/2025 3:16:22 AM PDT by poconopundit (Kash Patel, his portrait's in Webster's next to the word "gangbusters". Go Kash go! Love ya man!)
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