Paramount TV Media Chairman George Cheeks said late-night broadcasts are still under consideration within the network. The Eye has signed a one-year deal with Byron Allen to air his “Comics Unleashed” as a time-by at 11:35 p.m., allowing the station to “immediately generate revenue in that time slot,” which he said is “great for today’s It makes a lot of sense for us. Byron was a great partner for us at 12:30, so I’m sure he’ll continue to be a great partner for us at 11:30.”
But in the long term, Cheeks acknowledged that the network is still exploring the possibility of developing other programming in that time slot. “We’re still going to develop other ideas, other concepts,” he told reporters Wednesday at CBS’ fall schedule announcement press conference. “I grew up in late nights. I believe in late nights. I think the reality is that the reach still exists, but it’s primarily on YouTube, which is poorly monetized. So if you’re going to get back into that space, you’ve got to get back into that space with a different financial model. We’re developing other ideas.”
CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said ideas are “all over the place. We’re not actively developing it or anything. It’s just a conversation at this point. But it has to be a model that makes economic sense, and it’s not a talk show. Again, it’s not too early to be specific about that.”
With “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” ending next month, CBS has sold its 11:35 p.m. ET post-local news time slot to Byron Allen. Byron Allen is spending tens of millions of dollars to shorten the episodes of his “Comics Unleashed” series by an hour.
“It’s a comedy, and it’s a lot of great comedy that he’s able to involve people in,” Cheeks said. “It’s a change in format and a change from what people are used to, but I support the quality of those shows.”
Cheeks said the station considered several options before choosing to buy the time, including giving time back to affiliates and airing procedural dramas repeatedly in the time slot.
The time purchase agreement runs through the 2026-2027 television season. As part of the deal, Allen will continue to lease the 12:37 a.m. time to another of his company’s shows, the comedy game show “Funny You Should Ask.”
In recent years, Mr. Allen has paid CBS to air two episodes of “Comics Unleashed” (usually a new episode combined with a library half-hour) at 12:37 a.m. ET. First, he won the slot during the 2023-2024 gap after “The Late Late Show with James Corden” ends and before “After Midnight” begins in January 2024. He won the slot again in September 2025 as “After Midnight” ended its run.
Allen has been lobbying to take over the 11:35 p.m. slot almost from the moment it became clear that “The Late Show” was ending. “If they’re looking for a show, my hand is already up,” Allen said at an Ad Week event in New York last October. “For 50 years I have been waiting for this moment. Without a doubt, I will go for it…I am investing millions of dollars to prove myself at 12:35.”
As CBS moves from paying high late-night fees to paying for time slots, network officials say this will allow Eye to make a profit late at night and is the first step in rethinking how the time slots are economically priced.
