CBS continues its pattern of showcasing The Late Show With Stephen Colbert after key NFL games giving Stephen Colbert a special spot after the AFC Championship on January 26 instead of this year's Super Bowl. The AFC Championship often brings in significant viewing numbers outside the Super Bowl giving more eyeballs to The Late Show and the various content it highlights. This special episode is not live and was taped earlier prior to it’s airing.
CBS Will Showcase 'Watson' Starring Morris Chestnut Followed By Special 'Late Show' Broadcast
CBS plans to premiere a new medical drama titled Watson starring Morris Chestnut just after the AFC title game. The Late Show will follow Watson and all local news casts on CBS stations airing in various times zones.The program will start at approximately 11:35 pm ET which is 8:35 pm PT with 10:35 pm in Central and Mountain time zones dependent on the actual end of the football event . CBS uses AFC Championship to promote several upcoming midseason premieres all starting in the week of January 27 giving much promotion to the network’s coming programing in various categories. The NFL game typically leads directly into primetime programs boosting exposure for shows that are in premiere week which greatly impacts a show’s overall ratings success.
Stephen Colbert's Show Airs Post-Championships Game Instead of Super Bowl Showing Trend on CBS Programming
Stephen Colbert hosted his show on Super Bowl Sunday over four consecutive years 2016 2019 2021 plus last year 2024 while the Super Bowl aired on CBS. This recent move by CBS to highlight Stephen Colbert's The Late Show after AFC Championship is primarily due to its premiere week and less based on predictions for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills, or the Baltimore Ravens possibly doing well in Super Bowl game on Fox. The Late Show on CBS comes after a long awaited Watson series premiere before shifting to its regular timeslot on Sunday February 16 9 pm where The Equalizer also has time slot. CBS also highlights many programs during premier week.
'Late Show' Episode Follows Prior Post-Super Bowl Events Along with Increased Post-NFL Viewing
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air for the first time directly following an AFC Championship Game which takes the place of a usual post Super Bowl episode like those produced in 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024. Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon have benefited from post NFL time slots in recent months creating high spikes in viewership . Jimmy Kimmel's program on ABC has also shown great improvements with lead-ins from Monday Night Football. While none of those post show lead ins have topped Colbert’s show viewership remains significant for most talk shows. The January 26 edition of The Late Show will have pre-recorded sections despite airing live post-game shows previously and they have not announced guests for this episode just yet.
CBS Primetime Premieres Includes 'The Neighborhood', 'NCIS' Franchise and Many More After The AFC Championship Game
That same week starting January 27 shows like The Neighborhood, Poppa's House NCIS and NCIS: Origins as well as the three FBI programs Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage Ghosts Matlock Elsbeth NCIS: Sydney Fire Country and S.W.A.T will be returning on CBS for viewers. This long list demonstrates a diverse series of network content in all genres with the network scheduling various programs that they have for this year including programs from different genres that viewers enjoy the most on television broadcasts. Many networks look to time new program roll outs and time changes during certain points in the year that are strategically created to offer the highest opportunity for a good initial public impression.
The Late Show episode on January 26 is planned to air at 11:35 pm ET 8:35 pm PT and will come right after the first ever show premiere of CBS new program Watson with star Morris Chestnut and details regarding Stephen Colbert’s planned guests to be confirmed very soon in coming days. The Late Show is a collaborative production with The Late Show Inc and CBS Studios in association with Spartina Productions with Colbert Tom Purcell and Jon Stewart all being exec producers.
Additional segments of note for this week in programming include information regarding NHL return on Gray Media affiliate stations in the mid west alongside Pacers games on WTHR NBC affiliate station for audiences to choose across a vast library.
Programming Changes in CBS Affects Popular Shows 'Wheel Of Fortune' and Late Night Programs in January
The increase for price on Discovery+ subscription occurs at this time while free to view programing expands for sports fans on multiple networks. The news is occurring around a time for a rise in viewership for a variety of media with a $60 billion valuation by 2030 for the Japanese animation market impacting how corporations create entertainment. Wheel of Fortune experienced an uptick after new show host Pat Sajak left the series this past year and will be considered among shows to monitor this year to measure the success of the change. The popular streaming platform Tubi is another player to pay attention to for 2024 with its increased numbers within the year, many networks use Tubi for on demand programs. Various advertisement teams work with networks such as NBCUniversal and Comcast creating new ideas that will help with promotions of programs on demand.
The show was originally set in 2016 to follow Super Bowl games every year the program would have the option but for this year it will not follow Super Bowl and is instead planned for January 26th post AFC Championship. Fox which holds broadcasting rights for Super Bowl this year will not feature The Late Show as part of the time slot scheduling showing different approach by major broadcast networks for promotion.