So why did Stephen Colbert really get canceled?

Everybody wants to improve performance. We all want more for less. Market share is generally the scorecard; the more people we can delight and/or satisfy, the more successful we will be. This is not just true of manufacturers and service providers; everybody wants to make money, even television networks.

Stephen Colbert’s show was recently canceled by CBS; it will end in May, and this has caused quite a furor among his fans. Unfortunately for him, there doesn’t seem to have been enough of them to keep the show on the air. There are numerous claims of political retribution, and I imagine that could possibly have had something to do with it.

However, CBS claims they are losing $40 million a year on that show. If that’s true, I’m amazed they kept it on the air for so long. Colbert is well known for bashing conservatives, especially Donald Trump. It’s a free country, and he can do whatever he wants, but it’s probably the real cause of the cancelation. Retribution may have nothing to do with it.

By politicizing his show and favoring one side, he’s essentially alienating roughly half of his potential market share. Giving up half of one’s potential viewers is a tough thing to overcome when trying to pay the bills.

Years ago, our most famous comedians included names like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, George Burns, Jack Benny and many others. They made everyone laugh. I remember one Bob Hope monologue during a particularly acrimonious election. He said something like, “I’ve thought about this carefully, and I’m sorry to tell you I’m not going to run for president. I just can’t talk Dolores into moving into a smaller house!” Democrats, Republicans, independents and everybody else laughed about that; they talked about it for days. Nobody was offended regardless of their political beliefs.

For decades, Johnny Carson was king of late-night television. He interviewed guests on his show and always tried to make them look good, so he never had trouble getting people to come on. Most guests were well-known celebrities, and the banter back and forth was humorous and entertaining to millions.

And, yes, he occasionally had major politicians. It might be a Democrat one week and a Republican the next. He made them look good regardless of his political beliefs. They’d even joke about the political issues of the day, but it was never acrimonious. Johnny wanted everyone to watch him, regardless of their political beliefs. After Johnny retired, no one has ever been quite as good as he was in that genre.

Advertising rates are set by viewers.

The more viewers you have, the more you can charge, and the Nielsen Ratings are a time-tested method of measuring viewership. Even if Colbert is right in his views, he can’t attract enough of an audience to pay the bills. If he was really that good, wouldn’t another network pick him up? Maybe nobody else wants to lose $40 million or more every year.

Admittedly, some companies only want to advertise to certain groups of people. Watch golf on TV and you’ll see a lot of advertising for clubs, balls and other equipment of interest to golfers. These companies are specifically trying to target the people most likely to buy their products.

Perhaps Colbert wants sponsors who are satisfied advertising to mostly Democrats. Again, he’s not getting enough viewers to make advertising on his show worth their while.

Additionally, not everyone wants to listen to someone bashing the people they support. In fact, many people don’t want to listen to anyone bashing at all. Don Rickles is a comedian that is great at bashing people. That’s all he does, and I’ve never liked him even if he’s bashing someone I don’t care for.

We get so much bad news today, many of us don’t want to hear even more when we’d just like to relax with a little entertainment. Colbert could have had a lot more success following Johnny Carson’s example.

Regardless of the industry, we have to make enough to pay the bills and generate a profit. No one wants to lose money, especially not continuously. And nobody cancels money-makers.

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 603-898-1871 or RonBourque3@gmail.com.