CBS sells Late Show time slot to Byron Allen for comedy reruns

CBS has announced that when Stephen Colbert's cancelled Late Show goes off the air late next month, it will sell its late night time slots to producer Byron Allen in a "time buy" arrangement. Allen will fill the slots with his own comedy shows and sell advertising. Link to a Variety article by Ali Michael Schneider is here.

As "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" ends its run next month, CBS has opted to turn its 11:35 p.m. ET post-local news timeslot into a time buy, selling the slot to Byron Allen — who will move back-to-back episodes of his "Comics Unleashed" series down an hour.

The time buy deal is through the 2026-2027 TV season; as part of the deal, Allen will also continue to lease the 12:37 a.m. hour with another strip from his company, the comedy game show "Funny You Should Ask."

So even though ratings will surely plummet, as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been the number one talk show in late night, CBS will be guaranteed a profit under this deal because it takes no risk, and merely collects a time licensing fee.

When Skydance Media bought Paramount Global, including CBS, it was clear the Trump-friendly Ellison family that owned it was mandating a conservative, "anti-woke" viewpoint from its new assets, at any cost. Colbert's late night talk show, often pointedly critical of Trump, was cancelled, and conservative writer Bari Weiss took over CBS News, precipitating a ratings disaster for its news programs.

It's not clear just how "unleashed" the comics on Comics Unleashed will be, given the anodyne humor that has typically been showcased on the program, and the Ellisons' watchful eye over the proceedings.