Jimmy Kimmel on the “Poisoned” State of Late-Night Television

CBS announced in July 2025 that it would end Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” a year before the contract’s end, citing “purely financial reasons.” Speculation linked the move to the show’s anti-Trump stance and the Paramount-Skydance merger.

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Late-night hosts have faced heightened political pressure. Kimmel was suspended after a joke about activist Charlie Kirk, and Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded his firing, most recently over a Melania-related quip. Key dates: 2023 – New York Times reports Colbert was offered a five-year contract but chose three; July 2025 – CBS cancels “The Late Show”; December 2025 – ABC confirms Kimmel’s show remains profitable and extends his contract by one year; May 21 2026 – Colbert’s final episode airs and Kimmel discusses the “death of late-night TV” in a Vulture interview.

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Jimmy Kimmel (host of *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*), Stephen Colbert (former “Late Show” host), CBS, ABC, and former President Donald Trump are the principal actors in this dispute.

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CBS said Colbert’s show lost $40 million a year. Kimmel cited the 2023 New York Times report on the contract offer to question that figure. ABC told Kimmel his show’s online and linear-TV ratings have risen, indicating profitability.

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CBS released a statement that the cancellation was a “business decision based on financial performance.” ABC’s spokesperson said Kimmel’s program “remains financially healthy” and highlighted digital-audience growth. Trump’s campaign issued statements urging networks to “fire” Kimmel for his jokes about the former first lady.

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Kimmel called CBS’s loss figures “made-up numbers” and described the environment as “poisoned,” implying political attacks threaten the genre’s stability.

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The $40 million loss claim lacks independent verification, and ABC’s viewership data have not been publicly disclosed. No third-party audit of either network’s finances has been provided.

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• “I feel a little bit defeated about it,” — Jimmy Kimmel, Host of *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*

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• “Am I to believe that over the course of those two years, they suddenly started losing $40 million a year?” — Jimmy Kimmel

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• “We’re not just dying of natural causes. We’re being poisoned.” — Jimmy Kimmel

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• “I don’t love him. I don’t hate him, either. I feel sorry for him. He obviously didn’t get hugged a lot.” — Jimmy Kimmel (about Donald Trump)

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The case illustrates how political polarization and corporate mergers can reshape entertainment economics, prompting networks to reassess the viability of politically charged late-night programming.

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Kimmel’s contract will be reviewed in early 2027, and analysts await further CBS comments on its comedy slate’s finances. Ongoing political satire on late-night TV is likely to face heightened scrutiny.

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