In the wake of the retirement of CBS’s The Late Show and its franchise, the network reportedly claims that it expects to turn $15 million profit on late night, says The Hollywood Reporter. A statement from a CBS spokesperson on the topic highlighted Byron Allen’s (The Byron Allen Show, Mr. Box Office) time-buy of the Late Show timeslot.
CBS originally cited financial difficulties in the July 2025 cancellation announcement of The Late Show, claiming that the decision was purely out of financial reasoning amidst speculation that the act was a form of censorship. From THR, a statement issued by a CBS spokesperson said that the decision to cancel Stephen Colbert’s (The Colbert Report, The Daily Show) Late Show was also because late night had become “cost prohibitive” for the network to continue programming on its own.
Continuing:
“We’re proud to partner with Byron Allen on a new business and programming model for late night that proactively addresses a network daypart that was cost prohibitive to continue. […] With this ‘time buy’ model, we have shifted an hour that was losing roughly $40 million annually to $15 million in profit – a $55 million swing.”
Allen, a comedian and founder and chief executive of Allen Media Group, filled the slot (starting May 22) with Funny You Should Ask and two back-to-back episodes of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, covering total of two hours worth of airtime. According to THR, Allen’s debut for Comics Unleashed at the new timeslot garnered about 1.1 million viewers, which is a notable decline compared to the Late Show’s average of 2.7 million in its final season.
However, Allen Media Group has time-buy agreement with CBS for the 2026-2027 broadcast season, allowing Allen to pay to air his programs on the CBS network – this model establishes that Allen’s company is covering all production costs while paying the network for the ability to run in the timeslot, contributing to the upswing trend in profitability. Per THR, Advertising is also sold by Allen’s company, which further assists in recouping costs to air on CBS.
Prior, THR reported that Allen had remarked on using the time-buy agreement to get Comics Unleashed in the newly-opened slot, after having shown interest in it even before the Late Show’s final episode.
Allen’s entrance into late night is accompanied by further media strategizing, via THR, as he has also signed off on a now-closed (since Wednesday) deal for acquisition of Buzzfeed. Allen Media Group also has several acquisitions already under its belt, including The Weather Channel.