Media executive Byron Allen has secured a 16-month lease agreement with CBS to broadcast his long-running show Comics Unleashed in the 11:35 p.
m. late-night time slot, starting Friday.
>>> Female Canines Win Top Honors at Cannes Palm Dog Awards
The deal follows the recent cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Under the unusual arrangement, Allen will pay CBS directly for the time slot while retaining all advertising revenue generated by the comedy panel show.
CBS executives said moving the apolitical program into the prominent slot will provide immediate profitability after the network canceled Colbert's high-budget production for financial reasons.
Financial Shift for CBS
The scheduling shift marks a significant programming reorganization for CBS, which previously spent approximately $160 million on its late-night lineup.
Allen, who recently expanded his media holdings by acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed for up to $120 million, will continue to air his game show Funny You Should Ask immediately following Comics Unleashed.
Allen emphasized that his show offers a non-partisan entertainment alternative. "It's never been – I'm not trying to replace Colbert," he said.
"I don't think anybody can replace Colbert. I think he's phenomenal."
The program relies on a strict content structure that has driven its syndication success for two decades.
"This is a show we've been doing for 20 years," Allen said.
"And there's nothing like it on TV right now where you have five comedians sitting around with one purpose: making people laugh."
Allen noted that current television data reflects a sharp decline in viewership for repeat episodes of politically focused late-night talk shows.
"Some of these talk shows that are doing political humor, their repeats are -52% [viewership]," he said. "The repeats on Comics Unleashed are down 14%, not 52%.
That tells you right there, people are totally good with not doing political humor."
>>> Florida High School Senior Dies in Crash Hours Before Graduation
Profitability and Cross-Promotion
When questioned about the financial sustainability of the broadcast arrangement, Allen confirmed that the existing production model ensures profitability.
"The show is profitable, sir," he said. "I'm already producing the show for first-run syndication and my cable network Comedy.
tv. All I did was pick up another distribution platform."
Allen highlighted the cost savings for CBS: "They spent about $110m, $120m on Colbert and about $30m or $40m on the show called After Midnight.
So they were spending about $160m. Now, I'm paying them millions of dollars for the time period.
So it's a great deal for CBS and it's a great deal for me."
Allen also outlined plans to leverage his recent BuzzFeed acquisition, which includes HuffPost and Tasty, to build a cross-promotional audience network with CBS.
"They can promote CBS late night and CBS late night can promote BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty," he said.
"So we can cross-promote one another and bring audiences to each other that we don't have."
The expansion plan for BuzzFeed includes introducing a comprehensive library of entertainment content.
"You will be able soon to go to BuzzFeed and have access, for free, to over 30,000 movies and TV shows and documentaries," Allen said.
Allen expressed support for HuffPost's editorial standards, stating he plans to direct additional corporate resources toward the news outlet.
"I told HuffPost, 'Go after the Washington Post. Chase them down like a lion chases down a gazelle.
>>> Twenty One Pilots Announces Largest US Headline Show at Ohio Stadium
Go after them. Be bold, fierce, strong,'" he said.
