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CBS Cancels ‘Late Night’; Meta Directors Settles Cambridge Analytica Suit; Netflix Continues Its TV Rampage
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Good morning. Today, Stephen Colbert won’t skewer Paramount from the Ed Sullivan stage much longer; big names at Meta avoid potential testimony in a Cambridge Analytica trial; and the biggest disruptor in TV keeps its own groove going.
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‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ is the broadcast leader in its time slot with an average of 2.5 million viewers per episode this season. Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS/Getty Images
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CBS is pulling the plug on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” when the host’s contract expires in May, ceding broadcast TV’s late shift to NBC and ABC, Joe Flint reports.
Colbert on Thursday broke the news to his audience, which responded with boos and catcalls. “Yeah, I share your feelings,” he said.
CBS said the move was “purely a financial decision” and unrelated related to performance, content or any events at parent Paramount Global.
Paramount is trying to close a sale of the company to Skydance Media that is still awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
Colbert, a regular on-air critic of his corporate bosses and President Trump, used Monday’s monologue to knock Paramount over its $16 million deal to settle Trump’s “60 Minutes” lawsuit.
“I believe this kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles,” he said. “It’s a big fat bribe.”
Reactions: “Late Shift” author Bill Carter noted the business pressure on CBS but said the network will face “some serious questions about capitulating to Trump.” Others think they already know the answers. [THR]
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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Nike’s Alana Hoskin: ‘Adaptability Is a Strength, Not a Stressor’
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To lead with agility, Hoskin prioritizes experimentation, fast feedback, and iteration, while framing pivots as key steps toward finding what works for a specific situation and environment. Read More
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A Cambridge Analytica Conclusion
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A settlement means Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg will avoid testifying in a lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica. Photo: andrew caballero-reynolds/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
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Current and former Meta directors and executives agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing them of enabling Cambridge Analytica to improperly access millions of Facebook users’ information, Alyssa Lukpat writes.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in 2018 after it emerged that an academic had given the U.K. data firm the Facebook users’ information, which he had been authorized to study but wasn’t supposed to share.
Cambridge Analytica shut down and the company then called Facebook Inc. settled a resulting Federal Trade Commission investigation for $5 billion.
But a group of shareholders sued board members including director Marc Andreessen, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg.
The deal, which ended the trial on its second day, means the executives will avoid any risk of providing their own information on the stand.
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$1.1 billion
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Substack’s valuation in a new $100 million funding round from investors including Chernin Group, Andreessen Horowitz and Klutsch Sports founder Rich Paul. The newsletter platform’s app is becoming more like a social network, while its leaders seem to be opening their minds to advertising.
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Netflix Is Winning the Game
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‘Squid Game’ has helped Netflix cement its spot as the top streaming service around the world (even if the latest season hasn’t gotten great reviews). Photo: Netflix
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Netflix raised its revenue and operating margin forecasts for the year, continuing a strong run that has propelled its shares to new highs, Jessica Toonkel and Josie Reich report.
The streaming service said member additions, price increases and its growing ad business helped increase revenue 16% in the second quarter to $11.08 billion.
Netflix has established itself as the dominant global streamer with hits like “Squid Game,” “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Ginny & Georgia.”
It said it expects the return of popular shows such as “Wednesday” and the final season of “Stranger Things” in the second half of the year to continue to drive viewership.
Next-gen TV: Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company used completely AI-generated shots in one of its shows for the first time. [BI]
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“We do have measures that give us some sense of how effective it is. I haven’t been able to say, ‘Oh, I’ve saved X amount of money.’ ”
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— Cheryl Guerin, executive vice president of brand strategy and innovation at Mastercard, on gauging the benefits of generative AI. Marketers are tracking the technology’s impact in various ways, but don’t have clear ways to gauge its effects across whole businesses.
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The WSJ CMO Council Membership
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The Wall Street Journal CMO Council is an exclusive global community designed to help marketing leaders build impactful relationships with their peers and shape the future across all industries, in all parts of the world.
Membership in the CMO Council, part of the WSJ Leadership Institute, will unlock global in-person and virtual events, cutting-edge insights & and programming from The Wall Street Journal, as well as personalized, high-touch service, peer-to-peer connection and much more.
Request an invitation today.
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Juul was once a vaping juggernaut and one of the most valuable startups in America. Not it’s the No. 3 e-cigarette brand in the U.S., after Vuse and Geek Bar. Photo: Nick Hagen for WSJ
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The FDA authorized Juul to keep its e-cigarettes on the market, breathing new life into the company after troubles including thousands of lawsuits alleging it marketed its addictive devices to children and teens. [WSJ]
U.S. consumers of Korean skin care and makeup are stocking up to avoid President Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs. [NYT]
Burberry said its sales decline eased in its most recent quarter, as the British group pushes ahead with a revamp. [WSJ]
Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun said marketers “don’t care that much” about any drama in the ad industry. [Adweek]
Fox Sports signed a deal with Barstool Sports to make Dave Portnoy a regular on-air personality. [Variety]
Advertisers have learned to love the “Commercial Break” label on Sydney Robinson’s hit TikTok comedy “Group Chat.” [Ad Age]
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