James Corden's 'The Late Late Show' was 'wildly unprofitable' for CBS while host earned up to $5M/year
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: CBS reportedly lost nearly $20 million a year for James Corden's 'The Late Late Show'. The comedian recently ended his long run of eight years on the show as its host.
Corden signed off from the show last week and before its finale, the show became "wildly unprofitable," said Brian Stelter, the ex-CNN anchor who wrote the Los Angeles Magazine article which revealed that the show was "netting less than $45 million” against."
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'CBS could not afford him anymore'
Talking to Stelter about the millions the network had spent, an unnamed executive said, "It was simply not sustainable. CBS could not afford him anymore." According to sources, the host would have "faced a multimillion-dollar pay cut or painful staff reductions or both" if the program continued to air with Corden as its presenter.
After almost 30 years of 'The Late Late Show' production, the network wrapped the show with a grand finale that featured Tom Cruise, the show's final guests Harry Styles, Will Ferrell, and 'Carpool Karaoke' final edition with Adele.
In April 2022, when Corden's exit from the show was announced, a Deadline report stated his signing off from the popular show was extended to after his contract with the network for the program to air for one more year run that would be the end of his eight-years at the network as the host. He previously said that he made a "really hard decision to leave."
'We wish he could stay longer'
According to the report, executives at CBS attempted to make him stay on board by offering extensions of contracts all of which he rejected. Talking to the outlet, Corden said at the time, "My bosses here at CBS have been incredibly supportive and extraordinarily patient with me while I made this decision."
"We wish he could stay longer, but we are very proud he made CBS his American home and that this partnership will extend one more season on ‘The Late Late Show,’” said George Cheeks, George Cheeks.
According to Variety, Corden's payment as per his first contract with CBS for the show ranged from $4 million to $5 million in 2019 which eventually increased over time following the show's success.