Stephen Colbert appeared amped and nervous when he went on “The Late Show” last night to receive David Letterman's blessing as the talk show's next host. Conversely, Letterman seemed like he was phoning it in, even at the end of the chat when he snapped a “selfie” with his successor. The visit by the “Colbert Report” host underlined that Letterman may still physically be at his desk at the Ed Sullivan Theater, but he has mentally left the building where he has worked for more than 20 years. Colbert is slated to take “The Late Show” gig sometime in 2015.
Since CBS chief Leslie Moonves announced the succession two weeks ago, the decision to put Colbert at the “Late Show” helm has faced criticism, most notably from such pundits as Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly. Limbaugh went as far as to say that in choosing Colbert, CBS “had declared war on the heartland of America.”
It's understandable, since Colbert has sliced and diced O'Reilly and his ilk since he adopted the persona of an egomaniacal conservative bloviator when he launched “Colbert Report” in 2006. Yet picking Colbert has little to do with politics. Moonves, who is incredibly savvy as a casting director, selected Colbert because he is the most gifted performer available who is likely to appeal to the CBS audience. The 49-year-old Colbert is hardly some left-wing firebrand, he's a gifted improviser and thoughtful interviewer, who has honed a heartland sensibility. Look at his 2009 Grammy Award-winning special “A Colbert Christmas,” his trips to entertain American troops in war zones and his recent spots for Wonderful Pistachios.
“Colbert will be right at home with the network that people come to and watch “NCIS,” “Amazing Race” and “60 Minutes,” says Brad Adgate, senior vice president,research of Horizon Media. “He's going to fit on CBS like a well worn shoe.”
As New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd noted “Colbert has lived the life of a suburban soccer dad and Catholic Church-going Sunday school teacher in Montclair, N.J., with a beautiful wife he's nuts about, Evie McGee, and three boys.” That's in stark contrast, Dowd writes, to Johnny Carson and David Letterman -- Colbert is neither a “twisted” individual off-camera [Carson] nor “tortured” [Letterman].
Colbert makes sense in terms of counter-programming in the hyper-competitive late night arena. He's positioned to draw some of Jay Leno's fans, who want a more mature voice than either Fallon's “Tonight Show” or ABC's “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The two Jimmys are comfortable with the entertainment part of the late night mix, but neither possess Colbert's ability to seamlessly switch from silly to substantive conversation. Likewise for Conan O'Brien, whose "Conan" is on TBS. Colbert will ultimately skew younger than Leno and Letterman, but draw more of a mature audience than Fallon or Kimmel. With Letterman hosting the “Late Show” brings in almost $180 million in ad revenue and with younger demos Colbert is likely to up that number.
No doubt, fans of “The Colbert Report” will come aboard too, in addition to the more than 6 million followers he has on Twitter and more than 3 million “Likes” on his Facebook page. Much more so than Letterman, he fits the multi-screen audience model, where millions of viewers watch bits and pieces of late night shows, turned on by fans who share on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. “When you look at the numbers, 18-34 year olds are watching 42% of late night programming on YouTube,” says Adgate. “I might watch on TV. My 21-year-old daughter watches these guys too, but she watches them online. That online audience is becoming a significant part of the revenue model." Selecting Stephen Colbert. Moonves and company were simply following the money.
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