Cost-Cutting Kimmel? Propaganda Doesn’t Come Cheap

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Stephen Colbert’s late-night showcase goes the way of the pager and TiVo player in May. CBS axed the long-running show last year amidst media reports saying “The Late Show” lost roughly $40 million for the network annually.

So CBS ran an auction to sell off some “Late Show” memorabilia, with all proceeds going to World Central Kitchen. More auctions are planned, at least up until the show’s final airing.

It’s a sign of the times, a late-night institution shuttering its doors in the face of harsh economic truths. Alienate more than half the country with hard-Left propaganda, and it’s much harder to keep the lights on.

Just ask Michelle Wolf, Samantha Bee and Hasan Minhaj.

“The Late Show’s” cancellation comes on the heels of “The Tonight Show” shrinking from five nights to four. NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” also deep-sixed its house band to save a few shekels.

Now, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is looking to tighten its late-night belt.

The ABC show just announced it will reduce the number of live musical acts heard on the program.

Deadline has confirmed that JKL! will cut the number of musical performances each week to around two. We hear this is not a hard number and the show has not always had a musical slot on each episode, but the plan is to reduce it.

Why?

A charitable response would be Kimmel and co. crave even more time to share hard-Left talking points per episode. A more pragmatic read?

It’s a cost-cutting move.

The price to assemble an audio-friendly stage for a musical act, plus whatever fees are associated with each band member, must be less than having yet another actor or comedian crash Kimmel’s couch. Or, as is increasingly the case, a Democratic politician reciting party talking points.

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One of the biggest questions left unanswered from Kimmel’s week-long suspension last year? Does “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” make a profit? If not, how much is it losing per year?

Late-Night TV show revenue has cratered in recent years. So has the format’s ratings. Yes, more eyeballs are seeing late-night clips on YouTube and elsewhere, but that doesn’t drive sizable revenue like traditional ad sales.

Kimmel himself admitted that the late-night model has fallen and it can’t get up.

Late-night shows used to be “a way to get high-priced talent for almost free,” Kimmel added. But with annual costs topping $100 million, he sees the model as unsustainable [emphasis added]. “Somebody will figure it out,” he said, pointing to Hot Ones—a YouTube interview series where guests answer questions while eating spicy wings—as proof that similar concepts can thrive at a fraction of the cost. “You could still have the same format for a lot less—the host won’t make as much, the audience won’t be as big, but that’s okay,” he said.

Yet he signed a brief one-year extension with ABC late last year. Hardly a sign of confidence, either for the format or Kimmel himself.

That “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” auction could raise some cool cash for a worthy charity, though. Or “Kimmel’s Cookin'” could be the next YouTube sensation.