There are big business deals going on in the entertainment industry right now that are changing things a lot. The proposed merger between Skydance Media and Paramount Global is a big deal. This $8 billion agreement will lead to the creation of a new media company worth about $28 billion. But this commercial decision has made popular late-night TV shows, especially those presented by Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, less certain.

The cancelation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" by CBS, which was supposed to happen in May 2026, and Jon Stewart's frank comments about the uncertain future of "The Daily Show" under the new ownership show how this merger would affect a lot of things.

What you need to know about the Skydance Media-Paramount Global Merger

There is a complicated, two-step process for the deal between Skydance Media and Paramount Global, which was made public in July 2024. First, Skydance and its financial partners RedBird Capital Partners and KKR will buy National Amusements, Paramount's controlling shareholder, for $2.4 billion in cash. After this, Paramount Global will give its Class A and Class B stockholders $4.5 billion in cash and stock. Paramount's balance sheet will show an extra $1.5 billion in primary capital. The second step is a $4.75 billion all-stock merger between Skydance Media and Paramount.

The deal was supposed to close in the first half of 2025, but it has been delayed and is still waiting for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve it. The FCC's review is important because it has to do with giving CBS's national television network and 28 owned-and-operated local stations new broadcast licenses.

David Ellison and Paramount's Motivations: Key Players

David Ellison, the CEO of Skydance Media and the son of Larry Ellison, one of the founders of Oracle, is leading this transaction. He wants to merge Paramount's extensive heritage in Hollywood with Skydance's tech-driven methods to make the new firm better. Ellison wants to combine data analysis with content development by using Paramount's intellectual property and CBS's broadcast assets to provide content that can be accessed on multiple platforms. Skydance has made a lot of high-budget movies and TV shows in the past, including the successful "Mission: Impossible" and "Top Gun" franchises.

Paramount Global has been dealing with debt and trying to stay competitive in an entertainment sector that is always evolving. People think this merger will help them get fresh money to provide content and compete with bigger tech-driven platforms.

A Closer Look at the Cancellation of The Stephen Colbert Late Show

CBS said that "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" will conclude in May 2026, after 33 years on the air. The network said this was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night" and had nothing to do with the show's substance or anything else at Paramount.

Is the fact that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was canceled directly related to the combination of Paramount and Skydance? There is a lot of talk in the sector.

Colbert's show is the highest-rated late-night show, but it has suffered a drop in ad revenue and viewership, which is a trend that is happening on other late-night shows as well. 'The Late Show' made $75.7 million in ads in 2022, but that number dropped to $57.7 million in 2024. At the same time, the show's audience share among 18- to 49-year-olds dropped by 20%. NBC dropped "The Tonight Show" down to four evenings a week, which is one way that other late-night shows have tried to save money.

What the Trump Lawsuit Settlement Has to Do with Recent Events

People are wondering if Colbert's program cancellation had anything to do with the recent $16 million settlement between Paramount Global and Donald Trump. Trump sued CBS News because he said they altered an interview with Kamala Harris on "60 Minutes" in a way that was misleading. Colbert openly slammed Paramount over the settlement, calling it a "big fat bribe" just a few days before the show was canceled.

The deal happened as Paramount was waiting for the FCC to approve its merger with Skydance Media. Some senators and media observers have wondered if the cancellation was politically motivated because Colbert criticized it and the merger needed Trump's approval.

Colbert's Legacy and Reactions from Fans and the Industry

In 2015, Stephen Colbert took over "The Late Show" from David Letterman. Since then, the show has always had good ratings in its time slot. The conclusion of "The Late Show" on CBS comes with his departure. People in the industry and fans have said they are unhappy and worried. Jimmy Kimmel, who hosts a competing late-night show, publicly backed Colbert.

The Paramount-Skydance deal has had a lot of impacts, from Trump settlements to show cancellations. The future of famous TV shows is uncertain.

A lot of Democrats commended Colbert for "speaking truth to power" and wondered if the cancelation had anything to do with politics. CBS, on the other hand, says that the choice was only about money.

Jon Stewart and The Daily Show: Dealing with an Uncertain Future

Jon Stewart, who co-hosts "The Daily Show," has said that he doesn't know what will happen to the show when the Paramount-Skydance deal goes through. Stewart said he hasn't heard anything from Skydance officials about what they want to do with the long-running Comedy Central show.

Jon Stewart's honest comments on The Daily Show's uncertain future with Skydance Media show how unstable political satire is in a media landscape that is becoming more unified.

Stewart made a joke that Comedy Central is "kind of like Muzak at this point," with "The Daily Show" and "South Park" being the big shows right now. He thinks "The Daily Show" is good for the property, but he knows that the future owners might only see it as a "real estate transaction."

Stewart's Position and the Comedy Central Landscape After the Merger

Stewart came back to headline "The Daily Show" part-time in 2024, a job he had from 1999 to 2015. The show has gotten a lot of good reviews and was just nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series. Even so, its future is still not apparent. Making late-night shows is hard since the expense is high and ad revenue is going down. However, reports say that "The Daily Show" costs less to make than other late-night shows on networks.

The merger might change Comedy Central's overarching plan for what kind of content to make. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of "South Park," are also worried that the merger may push back the release of their show.

Skydance Media: Its Vision, History, and Future Plans

David Ellison started Skydance Media in 2006, and it has since become a well-known independent entertainment developer. The company makes mostly high-budget movies and TV shows, and they commonly deal with big studios. Skydance now offers more than just movies; they also do animation, video games, and sports.

Ellison's method blends planning for the future with hopes of becoming a filmmaker. Skydance wants to leverage data analytics to make content creation better and operations more efficient, which is something that many companies in Silicon Valley do. The corporation boasts a lot of great content, like the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, which it made alongside Paramount.

The Skydance-Paramount agreement is a portent of a new age in Hollywood, not just in the news. What will David Ellison's vision mean for making content and having a variety of media?

When the merger is done, David Ellison will be the chairman and CEO of the new Paramount Skydance Corporation. Larry Ellison, his father, will still have a lot of power through Oracle. This shift in leadership is expected to bring a new focus on keeping CBS's broadcast operations running while also dealing with the problems that the industry is facing right now.

More Effects on Late-Night TV and Media Consolidation

The merger between Skydance and Paramount is part of a larger trend in the entertainment sector toward media consolidation. To compete with big digital companies, businesses are trying to grow through cross-sector transactions, build intellectual property, and get bigger. The media environment is broken up, with people moving to streaming services and digital material.

Late-night talk programs and other traditional TV formats have been harmed by this change because fewer people are watching linear TV and advertising income is going down. It still costs a lot to make these shows, but streaming platforms have models that are more scalable and financed by ads.

The Deal and the FCC's Approval Process

For the merger to happen, the FCC has to say yes. The commission looks into applications for license transfers, which might take a long time. People have told the FCC that they are worried about the merger, particularly problems with media bias and foreign interference. Tencent Holdings Ltd. is an investor in Skydance.

Skydance will provide Paramount $1.5 billion in cash to assist them pay off their debts. The goal of the new company is to develop a single intellectual property ecosystem, like Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe, that will add value over time on several platforms.

What Will Political Comedy Be Like on TV in the Future

Late-night political comedies like "The Daily Show" and "The Late Show" have been making fun of politics for a long time. But because the media environment is evolving, these shows need to change too so that they can be seen on digital platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

The merger between Skydance Media and Paramount is more than just a commercial agreement; it's changing the way late-night TV works, affecting big names like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

The fact that "The Daily Show" is unclear and "The Late Show" has been canceled makes people wonder what will happen to political comedy on TV when it is owned by a new company. The new management at Paramount Skydance Corporation are being watched by the industry to see how they will make content, especially when it comes to politically charged shows.