With news breaking that America’s top late-night program is set to shutter next May, speculation abounds as to why. While we won’t join that party, we can offer some insights into The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and what it means for audiences, using data from iSpot and Tubular Labs.

Colbert is a major driver of TV ad reach for CBS

• In the last year, Colbert delivered the most ad reach of ANY broadcast program during the late-night window (11 p.m.-2 a.m.).
• Across all dayparts, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ranks No. 5 for ad reach on CBS for linear (ad impressions SOV of 3.86%), alongside the NFL and the network’s daytime daily shows The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless and Let’s Make a Deal. 
• Colbert ranks No. 27 for ad reach across all broadcast programming (all dayparts), with an ad impressions SOV of 0.73%.

The show is among the top 20 for estimated national linear TV ad spend on CBS

Although there’s been a decline across the board for linear spend during late-night shows over the last few years, Colbert has still captured a respectable share of ad dollars. 

• Brands have spent an estimated $32.2 million advertising during Colbert so far this year, making it CBS’s No. 16 program by outlay (spend SOV of 1.14%). 
• By comparison, estimated spend on Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon is higher, at $50.5 million and $50.3 million, respectively, 2025 YTD. 

But linear ad reach and impressions are only part of Colbert’s enterprise value

As audiences shift to streaming and YouTube becomes a huge part of the TV viewing experience, it’s shows such as late-night built audiences and behaviors that will be hard to replace. Tubular Labs data reveals: 

• On YouTube, broadcast late-night shows rake in over 100 million minutes watched per month among U.S. YouTube viewers, with Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Myers and Stephen Colbert all hitting similar marks in June 2025, at over 200 million minutes watched.
• Colbert, in particular, had his best month of the year by watch-time in June, leaning heavily into Trump-related content.
• Late night has recently transitioned on social, away from as much of the stunt videos that made up a lot of the most popular Jimmy Fallon and James Corden videos at one point, back to monologue clips and full segment sharing.
• Even if live tune-in is declining for these and other programs, social viewership stays strong as more viewers watch YouTube as TV (including these shows).

U.S.-Only YouTube Minutes Watched For Late-Night

Late night remains a good vehicle for advertisers 

Audiences that are hard for advertisers to reach in an age of skippable on demand programming are found in live sports and perishable shows. As this iSpot analysis from last year shows, late night is a staple for TV ad reach during the offseason, as viewed through the lens of NFL viewers.

For more insights around The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and other late-night programming, please reach out to us!