Jimmy Kimmel, a vested player in the late-night television scene, isn’t buying CBS and Paramount’s justification for discontinuing The Late Show With Stephen Colbert as being solely based on financial grounds. Kimmel, in a conversation with Variety, refuted claims that Colbert’s program was hemorrhaging $40 million annually, labeling such reports as “beyond nonsensical.” He questioned, “How could they even think that?” considering he is in the business himself. Kimmel criticized so-called experts who only focus on ad revenue while disregarding affiliate fees, which he claims bring in “probably billions” nationwide. He explained that these fees are crucial and a significant portion should be attributed to late-night broadcasts. “It’s astonishing how misunderstood the media business is by those reporting on it. The idea that Colbert’s show was a financial drain is just ludicrous,” he insisted.

Kimmel remains more hopeful about the future of late-night television than others, such as former TV host now podcaster Conan O’Brien. He acknowledges the undeniable slump in network television viewership but contends that “late-night TV viewership is higher than ever, including the era of Johnny Carson, which might surprise some.” He’s eager to set the record straight.

Kimmel pointed out that during Carson’s heyday, The Tonight Show drew about 9 million viewers nightly, whereas lead-in programs attracted 30 to 40 million viewers. Now, viewership is more dispersed across different platforms. Before The Late Show came into the picture, Carson pretty much had the stage to himself. Nowadays, platforms like YouTube boost the numbers significantly, with Seth Meyers alone drawing 2 million views. Kimmel’s own opening monologues garner between 2 and 5 million views, while Jon Stewart hits 5 million. Adding online views to traditional TV ratings and DVR recordings, Kimmel argues, brings these figures quite close to Carson’s. He emphasized that these shows still capture significant attention, mentioning that even the president tunes in frequently enough to express discontent and make predictions about their demise.