Insider Says Woke Late Night Host Was Costing CBS Over $20 Million A Year

An industry insider has come out claiming that 'The Late Late Show' with James Corden was canceled after it lost up to $20 million per year when it aired. 

Corden was best known for his 'Carpool Karaoke' skits, where he would drive with other celebrities and sing songs with them. The late night host exited 'The Late Late Show' following his April 27th show, which featured the likes of Harry Styles and a Carpool Karaoke with the singer Adele.

Corden appeared earlier this year on 'The Drew Barrymore Show,' saying he would be leaving his program to focus more on his family. “If I really want to do this other work, that cannot be at the expense of our children, our family,” he said, per ET. 

However, it appears that Corden's exit may be far less noble than he is attempting to make it appear. An industry insider spoke with Los Angeles Magazine, stating that 'The Late Late Show' was costing the network between $60 million to $65 million per year, but was only netting at most $45 million. 

An executive said “It was simply not sustainable. CBS could not afford him anymore.” Corden alone was supposedly making up to $5 million per year to run the show, so it’s no wonder that they were struggling. 
 

The show itself had also begun to decline in overall viewership, with Corden originally garnering an audience of about 1.6 million viewers per night in his debut in 2015. Earlier this year, he was only able to maintain around 700,000 to 800,000 viewers per night, roughly half of his original audience. 

The exit of Corden only further shows the declining market of late-night shows. There are a multitude of reasons behind this, with things such as the growth of streaming platforms undoubtedly damaging the television market. 

This isn’t the first hit to the market, nor will it be the last. Just recently, the Writer’s Guild of America announced they would be going on a strike, causing many late-night shows to have to go on a hiatus due to the lack of writers behind them. 

The politicization of late-night shows has undoubtedly also caused problems for hosts and their audiences. The intense lean to the left has left many people feeling mocked and disenfranchised by the hosts. You can even see this in the final episode of 'The Late Late Show,' where Joe Biden makes a video appearance. 

Ultimately, if late-night shows want to have any hope of surviving, changes will have to be made to adapt to the new times. Whether or not networks will respond in time is yet to be seen.