Colbert’s show cost over $100 million annually and reportedly lost $40–50 million each year. But this alone does not explain its termination. Television history is filled with unprofitable yet high-profile productions that networks sustained for strategic reasons.

The political atmosphere surrounding the decision and the mounting evidence of behind-the-scenes coercion offer further insight into Colbert’s firing. Paramount Global, CBS’s parent company, is in the midst of an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which would create a $28 billion behemoth called Paramount Skydance Corporation. Skydance CEO is David Ellison, son of Oracle’s Larry Ellison, a multibillionaire. Both Ellisons are Trump supporters.

The merger is undergoing regulatory scrutiny—particularly by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), now under the direct control of the Trump administration. The deal’s approval has been delayed until at least October 2025, and its fate clearly hangs on Paramount’s ability to placate the White House.

This is the same Trump administration that has made a specialty of waging legal and financial war on the media. Most recently, Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal ($10 billion). Previously, he settled a defamation lawsuit with ABC News ($15 million) and, most relevantly, with Paramount itself—$16 million paid to settle a suit related to a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris.

Colbert publicly denounced the latter settlement, calling it a “big fat bribe.” Days later, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show.