One Reason Jimmy Kimmel Absolutely Knows Those Stats About The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Losing $40 Million Are Bollocks

by

For decades, late-night talk shows have been a consistent part of television. However, recently, the landscape has changed quite a bit, with shows like *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert* ending and Jimmy Kimmel temporarily off the air. There’s been a lot of discussion about declining ratings, but Jimmy Kimmel is now publicly disputing those numbers.

CBS said they canceled The Late Show because it wasn’t profitable for the network. While some reports suggested the show was losing around $40 million each year, Jimmy Kimmel recently stated that figure is likely inaccurate. He explained his perspective at the Bloomberg Screentime Conference.

I’m aware of the budgets for these shows, including my own salary and Stephen Colbert’s. I also know how much the advertising team earns. When you factor in things like affiliate fees – which are a significant cost for a nightly, five-nights-a-week show – the total cost isn’t $40 million, and that figure doesn’t accurately reflect the true expenses.

Jimmy Kimmel has said that running a late-night show likely costs around $120 million each year. However, determining the true profit and expenses is actually quite complex. He explains that things like affiliate fees – payments networks receive from stations to broadcast their programs – make it difficult to calculate. While some of that fee should be credited to the show, it’s impossible to know exactly how much.

Jimmy Kimmel acknowledges he doesn’t know if his show, or late-night shows in general, are profitable. While he’s open to the idea that they might cost the network money overall, he believes losses couldn’t be as high as $40 million – if they were, the shows would have been cancelled by now. He went on to explain further:

Here’s the bottom line: if the company was losing significant money, there would be layoffs. It’s simple as that. Unlike public broadcasting, which can operate at a loss, a private company losing $40 million in a year wouldn’t be able to keep everyone employed.

It’s true that *The Late Show* is letting all of its staff go next year, and other late-night programs have also had their budgets reduced. It’s currently uncertain what this means for Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night hosts, but there’s no sign that their shows will be canceled.

Read More

2025-10-16 16:51