‘Not that relevant’ late night TV shows fading to black as even Colbert’s leading ‘Late Show’ sees audience drop 32%

[edjr 6,588]

https://fortune.com/2024/10/25/late-night-tv-shows-fading-colbert-leading-late-audience-drop-32/

 

Quote

Thomas Urbain and AFP
October 25, 2024 at 7:31 AM EDT

 

 

America’s late night talk shows once were appointment viewing, but with ratings tanking and ad revenues plummeting, their coveted place on the small screen is in question.

The hosts of yesterday and today — comedians from Johnny Carson and Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon and Jon Stewart — are household names, and their jokes were once mandatory conversation starters at the water cooler.

But NBC, home to “The Tonight Show,” hosted by Fallon, recently moved from five new episodes a week to four — a sign of the not-so-great times.

“Late night TV is just not that relevant in today’s television world,” said Jeffrey McCall, a professor specializing in media at DePauw University in Indiana.

Each show follows a similar formula — a host sits behind a desk and celebrity guests tell funny anecdotes, promote their latest work, and even play self-deprecating games for audience amusement.

Thanks to the advent of streaming and clips going viral on the internet, these hosts — David Letterman and Stephen Colbert are other examples — have become globally recognized.

But the format is stagnating: the most popular among them, Colbert’s “Late Show” on CBS, has seen its audience slashed by 32 percent over the last five years.

And ad revenue is vanishing. In the first eight months of 2024, it fell 10 percent, according to media analytics firm Guideline, after an even bigger drop last year.

“Late night was once a fabulous generator of profit,” because shows were cheaper to produce than primetime fare and featured abundant commercial time, explained Bill Carter, the author of several books on the topic.

“Profits the shows provide have shrunk toward non-existent.”

NBC’s decision to cut one episode of “The Tonight Show” per week came after CBS and ABC — Kimmel’s home network — had done the same thing.

In the last three years, several high-profile hosts have thrown in the towel, including Conan O’Brien (TBS) and James Corden (CBS) — prompting the networks to scrap their programs altogether.

In the middle of the 2010s, late-night TV seized the moment offered by YouTube, where clips could be posted, consumed whenever and sometimes go viral.

Corden created a worldwide success with his “Carpool Karaoke” series featuring superstars singing with him in his car.

But even that online money-spinning success has dried up, with YouTube offering advertisers far lower rates than traditional network broadcasts.

 

 

 

Not surprising. Fock them. 

[avoiding injuries 1,580]

The fact that Colbert was leading all of them says more than you need to know. The networks and their own content are dead. 

[Sean Mooney 1,983]

It's a couple different things:

1.) Some people were turned off by the heavy reliance of politics in the show content. Politics are there all day long so you sit down to watch a show at 11:30 or 12:30 you aren't necessarily looking for more political content. 

2.) It's heavily a function of how we consume content anymore. Back in the glory days of The Tonight Show it was a huge deal to see a big start on the show and everything. But now- they can pop up anywhere at any time- from their own Instagrams to Hot Ones. Also, everything is short burst clips anymore- so one can watch parts of a show without sitting through the whole thing to get all the content. 

[Tree of Knowledge 1,859]

Colbert and Kimmel let their TDS consume their shows.  Nobody wants to hear that and they are both reputed pedophiles.  Game over.  

[avoiding injuries 1,580]

Colbert is The View, but with one host and at night. 

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,103]

2 hours ago, Tree of Knowledge said:

Colbert and Kimmel let their TDS consume their shows.  Nobody wants to hear that and they are both reputed pedophiles.  Game over.  

They're just upset Trump didn't grab their pvssies.

[wiffleball 4,790]

Colbert lost me for very specific reasons;

Monologue:  he started off with a familiar structure. He do his opening monologue then they break the commercial then come back and start the rest of the show. But, he got so impressed with his own voice that they started making "meanwhile" a two commercial break item. 

- and it's just not funny. It is incredibly self-indulgent.

- And the lead into the second half of meanwhile It consists of Colbert literally just throwing out nonsensical words for a solid Two or three minutes as the introduction To yet more of his bloviating. 

More below.

 

[wiffleball 4,790]

One of the first things that annoyed me most about Colbert is, if you watch all the late night shows, he is the only one that introduces himself while the crowds already clapping for him. Hello I'm Stephen colbert! -Wait for applause-...

 

Dude, do you think you're surprising anybody who's sitting in the audience? I mean not only have they stood under a neon Marquee with his name in 3 foot letters, it's safe to say they've been bombarded for a couple hours before Colbert took the stage.

-  ask most comedians Or other stage artists What they thought;  they would say that it's an incredibly cheap and hackneyed Tool that Only The most basic level entertainer Indulges in. 

 

[wiffleball 4,790]

His "Questionert" that he does with his guests.

 

Dude, it's a total docking rip off from James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio. 

I mean, just blatant. 

At least Lipton gave credit to the primal progenitor of it. 

 

[wiffleball 4,790]

His need to be the smartest guy in the room. Any good interviewer will be credited with making his guests look like the smartest folks in the room. Even if they're not. Not Colbert. 

 

I can't remember the very famous actress that was on his show. But she recited one of my favorite poems. But instead of just sitting back and letting her do exactly that, Colbert had to jump in on top of her and say the final lines.

WTF*** man?

 

He does the same thing with Science fiction & fantasy too. Among others.

 

Guess what? Do you think maybe your audience want to hear your guests?  - just an arrogant selfish . 

[wiffleball 4,790]

Last: His slavish handcuff to The Left. 

When Jon Stewart of all people comes out and buries Colbert regarding Wuhan, Covid, that was classic.  His own mentor just kneecapped him.

 

Yay.

 

Still, not as awful as Corden, but damn close.

  

[supermike80 1,911]

36 minutes ago, wiffleball said:

His "Questionert" that he does with his guests.

 

Dude, it's a total docking rip off from James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio. 

I mean, just blatant. 

At least Lipton gave credit to the primal progenitor of it. 

 

 

[purdygood 352]

TV Ratings are like Political Polling... Nobody has ever asked me what I watch or who I'm gonna vote for only the biggest dummies pick up the phone or sign up to attach a box to their TV and answer those questions.

[edjr 6,588]

4 minutes ago, purdygood said:

TV Ratings are like Political Polling... Nobody has ever asked me what I watch or who I'm gonna vote for only the biggest dummies pick up the phone or sign up to attach a box to their TV and answer those questions.

Pretty sure they haven't done TV ratings via phone since Beenhidden was getting into congress.

[easilyscan 925]

2 hours ago, supermike80 said:

 

That deer in the headlights stare at the beginning......... Priceless!

As for Steven Colbert, he was very funny........ 1.5 decades ago.

[BunnysBastatrds 2,441]

 Vapid nonsense