Byron Allen’s Recent Move in Late Night Television

There’s been some chatter around the controversy involving Byron Allen and his recent show, comics unleashed, which managed to draw only 878,000 viewers. That’s significantly less than Stephen Colbert’s typical audience of about 2.15 million.

Now, before diving too deep into the details, I think it’s important to touch on some basic economic principles. Imagine you and your neighbor both open restaurants. If you manage to produce a hamburger for $1.50 and sell 50 at $2.50 each, you might start to see some profits, right?

But wait—it gets a bit tricky. Meanwhile, your neighbor decides to spend $100 making hamburgers and manages to sell 100,000 at $99 each.

So, uh, who’s the better businessman here? Think about it for a moment.

CBS, in running The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, reportedly lost around $40 million a year, despite the show pulling in about 2.1 million viewers. On the other hand, with comics unleashed, which drew in fewer viewers, CBS profits from a $15 million annual broadcast fee.

So, what’s the smarter financial choice: a $40 million loss or a $15 million gain?

Let’s dig a little deeper. After taking over Colbert’s timeslot, Byron Allen will keep the ad revenue for his program. This means that anything beyond the $15 million licensing fee and production costs is essentially profit—albeit, a smaller amount.

CBS issued a statement expressing pride in partnering with Allen, noting that this innovative business structure could turn a $40 million loss into a $15 million per year profit, totaling a positive shift of $55 million.

If you’re not aware of Allen’s background, it’s quite fascinating. He transitioned from being a stand-up comic to co-hosting a show in the 1970s. Now, he’s a thriving media and real estate mogul, even recently purchasing a $100 million home in Malibu. Legend has it he once pretended to host the Tonight Show when no one was around.

Fast forward to last week, where Allen snagged the entire Late Show timeslot from CBS. This brings us to an intriguing comparison:

Last week, Stephen Colbert, a wealthy white man, was in desperate need of $40 million from CBS to keep his show running. Meanwhile, Byron Allen, a billionaire of color, is now footing the bill on his own during the same time slot.

So, what do you think? Is this country pretty remarkable or what?