Stephen Colbert, CBS and the FCC: What to know about the heated media feud
Viewers aren't normally inundated with drama when watching a late-night comedy show. Yet that's what's been happening in the final stretch of "The Late Show."
A three-way battle ignited this week between CBS, its liberal host Stephen Colbert, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over an interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, dueling claims about whether Colbert was allowed to air the discussion on television, and accusations of censorship and political gamesmanship.
But the shots fired starting Monday were the result of brewing tensions that ultimately boiled over on air and online.
Here's a timeline of how the late-night soap opera has unfolded:
CBS sent shockwaves across the media and political landscape last summer when it announced that it had canceled "The Late Show," officially pulling it off the air in May 2026.
The Tiffany network insisted it was purely a financial decision, but liberal critics cried foul, particularly with the timing. CBS' parent company Paramount Global was in the middle of $8 billion merger negotiations with David Ellison-owned Skydance, which sought the approval of the FCC run by President Donald Trump's handpicked chair, Brendan Carr.
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Colbert's defenders accused Paramount of canceling his show in order to get the merger past the finish line, and it came on the heels of the company's settlement with Trump over the network's handling of its "60 Minutes" Kamala Harris interview.
However, it was reported that "The Late Show" was losing more than $40 million a year for the network and that it had a budget of more than $100 million per season.
Just one week after CBS announced Colbert's cancellation, the FCC gave the official green light to Paramount and Skydance's $8 billion transaction.
In a statement released at the time, Carr touted "written commitments" Skydance had made to the FCC, saying that programming going forward will embody "a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum."
Colbert, who famously called Paramount's settlement to Trump a "big fat bribe," mocked the announced merger, which closed Aug. 7.
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Last month, the FCC announced it was enforcing its "statutory equal opportunities requirement," a long-standing policy that allots equal airtime for legally qualified candidates on the ballot on the broadcast networks.
For decades, late-night talk shows and daytime talk shows like ABC's "The View" were exempt from the policy as they were classified by their networks as "bona fide" news programs. However, the FCC now says it "has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on the air presently would qualify for the 'bona fide' news exemption."
Colbert lashed out at the policy, accusing Carr and the FCC of trying to "silence" him and his fellow liberal late-night comedians like Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers.
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Fox News Digital was first to report that the FCC launched an investigation into "The View" in regards of the equal time policy, which Carr later confirmed at a Feb. 18 press conference.
What triggered the probe was Talarico's appearance on the ABC daytime talk show on Feb. 2. Talarico, who is running for the Democratic Senate nomination in Texas, was among the first politicians to appear on the broadcast talk shows after the FCC announced its policy push.
ABC's parent company, Disney, never made an equal-time filing to the FCC regarding Talarico's recent appearance, which would implicitly indicate to the FCC that Disney believes "The View" is bona fide news and would be exempt from the policy, an FCC source told Fox News Digital.
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The policy would require ABC to have all of Talarico's legally qualified Democratic primary rivals to receive equal airtime. Notably, his top rival, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, had appeared on "The View" in early January for a lengthier period of time, but before the FCC announced its initiative. However, the policy would also require ABC to have on air little-known candidate Ahmad Hassan, who is on the ballot with Talarico and Crockett.
Candidates don't necessarily have to appear on the exact programs for the networks to adhere to the policy, meaning they could either appear on a news program or the network can air their campaign ads as a supplement.
On Monday, Colbert generated headlines when he told viewers that CBS blocked his interview with Talarico from airing.
"He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network's lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast," Colbert told viewers.
After citing the policy, Colbert continued, "Let's just call this what it is — Donald Trump's administration wants to silence anyone who says anything bad about Trump on TV because all Trump does is watch TV, OK? He's like a toddler who has had too much screen time."
Colbert revealed that the Talarico interview would be shared on his show's YouTube page, which would sidestep the FCC's policy. Talarico accused CBS and other media companies of "selling out the First Amendment" to curry favor with Trump.
Liberal critics blasted CBS and the FCC with accusations of censorship, and the resulting furor worked to Talarico's advantage.
The extra attention led to the the interview receiving more than 8 million views on YouTube since Monday night and Talarico touting a $2.5 million fundraising haul within 24 hours.
The next day, as liberal outrage grew toward the network, CBS released a statement insisting it did not block the Talarico interview.
"THE LATE SHOW was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico," the network told Fox News Digital in a statement.
The statement continued, "The show was provided legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal-time rule for two other candidates, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and presented options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled. THE LATE SHOW decided to present the interview through its YouTube channel with on-air promotion on the broadcast rather than potentially providing the equal-time options."
Crockett herself reacted to the controversy and acknowledged "the federal government did not shut down this segment" and that Colbert could have "clear[ed] the issue" if he had her on but chose not to.
Colbert slammed CBS' "crap" statement, telling viewers he wasn't approached by CBS before the statement was made.
"I don’t know what this is about. For the record, I’m not even mad. I really don’t want an adversarial relationship with the network. I’ve never had one," Colbert said. "I’m just so surprised that this giant, global corporation would not stand up to these bullies."
The host also attempted to defend himself by pointing to the two interviews he had previously done with Crockett, except both were done before she launched her Senate bid in December.
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While liberal critics have accused CBS of attempted censorship, conservative critics have accused Colbert of aiding Talarico, widely seen as the establishment favorite, and sidestepping the FCC rules to avoid promoting Crockett in the final stretch of the campaign.
"You had a Democrat candidate who understood the way that the news media works, and he took advantage of all of your sort of prior conceptions to run the hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks. And the news media played right into it," Carr told reporters at a press conference Wednesday.
"Yesterday was a perfect encapsulation of why the American people have more trust in gas station sushi than they do in the national news media... And you guys ate it up like slop," he continued. "And when it was pointed out to the facts were completely different than what the fake news media was running with, nobody did, like, an about-face or did a fact correction. They just pivoted and moved away."
"I think you guys should feel a bit ashamed for having been lied to and to just run with the lies. I think it was an embarrassing episode for the media," Carr added.
Crockett told MS NOW on Friday she has not received an invitation to appear on "The Late Show" ahead of the closely watched primary election on March 3.
Meanwhile, Colbert is still set to host his canceled show until May without any sign of CBS pulling the plug beforehand. And he's apparently going down swinging.