Jimmy Kimmel feels 'defeated' by Colbert's show cancelation, claims late-night TV is being 'poisoned'

In an interview following the final show of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said he felt "a little bid defeated" about the show’s cancellation, and claimed that the format of late-night talk shows isn’t "dying of natural causes," but rather being "poisoned." 

Speaking with Vulture following the last episode of Colbert’s show, which aired on May 21, Kimmel said, "I feel a little bit defeated by it." He added, "In a lot of ways, I feel like I’m looking at my own future."

He claimed that "there are far more people watching late-night TV than there ever were, if you look at the number of views me and my colleagues get online every day and add in our linear-television ratings." He said it was "silly" to claim that the format is dying, adding, "We’re not just dying of natural causes. We’re being poisoned."

Kimmel said he found it hard to believe that if Kimmel’s show had been hemorrhaging a reported $40 million per year that CBS would have reupped his contract. He said, referencing the year in which Colbert agreed to a 3 year contract over the outlet’s five-year one it proposed, "Am I to believe that over the course of those two years, they suddenly started losing $40 million a year? These are just made-up numbers."For Colbert’s last show, Kimmel, as well as fellow late-night host Jimmy Fallon, did not air new episodes, instead showing Colbert’s final episode. 

In the wake of Colbert’s show being canceled, CBS has said that it is expected to turn from losing $40 million annually for the slot to bringing in $15 million in profit. Taking over Colbert’s slot is Comics Unleashed, and CBS said it was shifting to a "time buy" model, which they credited for the profit.