Jimmy Kimmel just had his single best month ever on the air, and he clearly knows exactly why. CBS canceled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Kimmel’s ratings then quietly exploded right after that.
So what actually happened between these two rival late night hosts over the past full year? This piece breaks down the cancellation, the fallout, and Kimmel’s cheeky response once his June numbers finally came in.
CBS cancels The Late Show
CBS announced back in July of 2025 that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert would officially end after its current run. The network then said the show would air its final episode the next May.
CBS called it a purely financial decision, entirely unrelated to performance, ratings, or content quality overall. Still, the timing raised eyebrows industry wide, since Colbert had recently criticized the network’s own parent company on air.
The reason behind the cut
Reports soon claimed that The Late Show was losing CBS more than forty million dollars every year it aired. Puck News specifically cited a total budget exceeding one hundred million dollars per season for it.
Kimmel didn’t stay quiet for very long after the cancellation news first broke across entertainment media. He argued the timing appeared intended to help Paramount secure approval for its pending Skydance merger, though that reflected his opinion rather than an established fact.
Kimmel slams the decision
Kimmel didn’t stay quiet for very long after the cancellation news first broke across entertainment media. Kimmel argued the timing appeared intended to help Paramount’s merger. And to secure approval for its pending Skydance merger deal.
During a fiery September monologue, Kimmel accused CBS of inventing the reported $40 million annual loss figure, arguing it emerged just before the Paramount-Skydance merger received regulatory approval.
Colbert’s emotional finale
Colbert’s emotional finale finally aired in mid-May of 2026, closing out more than a decade on the air. The farewell episode drew six point seven four million total viewers, his most watched night ever recorded.
It marked the single most watched weeknight broadcast during the entire eleven year run of his program. Fans flooded social media with heartfelt tributes, while several fellow hosts publicly mourned the loss of a colleague.
Kimmel goes dark in support
Kimmel pulled his own show off the air the same night as Colbert’s finale, out of genuine respect for his longtime rival. He urged his own viewers to tune into CBS one final time instead.
In his emotional monologue, Kimmel said he hoped whoever pushed Colbert out felt ashamed of themselves, though he doubted they actually would. He then encouraged fans to stop watching CBS entirely after that particular night.
Kimmel doubts CBS’s numbers
Kimmel later admitted the situation left him feeling genuinely defeated, both as a fellow host and close friend. He pointed to Colbert’s past contract talks as proof the show wasn’t truly struggling financially at all.
He noted Colbert once turned down a longer five year deal in favor of a shorter three year contract back in 2023. To Kimmel, that timeline made the sudden loss claims seem completely implausible now.
Ratings take off post-Colbert
Everything shifted dramatically once Colbert signed off from CBS for good back in May of 2026. On June first, Kimmel’s show returned with fresh episodes and dominated the eleven thirty five time slot that night.
Nielsen ratings showed Kimmel pulled in two point one eight five million total viewers that single evening. That impressive figure represented a fifty three percent jump compared to the same night just one year earlier.
Best month in show history
This momentum carried straight through the remaining month of June for Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC. The show averaged three point one five million viewers across those weeks, a genuinely stunning total for late night.
That number marked the best monthly audience in the program’s full twenty-three-year broadcast history to date. The ratings suggested Kimmel benefited from Colbert’s departure, though analysts also noted strong NBA Finals lead-ins helped boost ABC’s audience.
Kimmel thanks CBS
Kimmel addressed the record numbers directly in a statement he gave to Variety following his record breaking month. He credited CBS itself, somewhat sarcastically, for handing him such a surprisingly large new audience boost overall.
The ratings are very strong, he said in that interview, and we are very grateful to CBS for their wisdom. We were doing pretty well before that, he added, but that really helped since then.
An invitation to Colbert
Kimmel also revealed he invited Colbert to guest host his own show during his upcoming annual summer vacation break. He said the offer stands anytime, regardless of season or any particular scheduling needs going forward.
Colbert reportedly declined the offer for now, feeling the timing still felt somewhat premature after everything that happened. Kimmel said he understood completely but still hopes the two hosts can share a stage again someday.
Featured Image: instagram.com/Colbert
