*Byron Allen’s CBS late-night lineup is not winning the ratings race, but it is proving unusually effective at keeping its audience, LateNighter reports.
Two months after “Comics Unleashed” replaced “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” at 11:35 p.m., the show remains behind ABC and NBC in overall viewership. June data, however, shows fewer people abandoning Allen’s programming as the night continues.
“Comics Unleashed” ended its hour with 53% of the viewers who were watching at the start. Colbert’s program kept 40% during the comparable period in June 2025.
The difference was also visible among adults ages 18 to 49. Allen’s show held 60% of that group, compared with 46% for “The Late Show.”
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The strongest performance came later in the schedule. “Funny You Should Ask,” which airs opposite NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” kept 81% of its opening audience. Meyers finished with 56%.
Those results helped CBS close much of the gap left by its former lineup. Allen’s block began the night with substantially fewer viewers than Colbert attracted one year earlier. By 1:35 a.m., however, its audience was close to what “After Midnight” previously delivered.
The programs’ evergreen format may help explain the pattern. Neither show depends on a nightly political or topical monologue, allowing episodes to remain useful long after their original broadcast. June reruns of “Comics Unleashed” drew nearly as many viewers as new episodes.
The larger business question remains unresolved. CBS and Allen must still determine whether a smaller but steadier audience can produce enough advertising revenue to make the arrangement financially successful.
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