CBS ‘Col’ hard cash
Network shows off Stephen to woo advertisers
CBS bypassed the usual parade of sitcom stars during its upfront presentation on Wednesday and instead rolled out the red-hot Stephen Colbert to entertain advertisers.
The Tiffany Network, hoping to hoover up as big a slice as possible of the $9 billion Madison Avenue will commit to TV over the next few months, made sure that marketers left the Carnegie Hall venue knowing which network has the No. 1 show in late night.
No doubt CBS will be expecting the premium pricing that comes with it.
With can’t-make-it-up political drama sucking the oxygen from the entire entertainment landscape, Colbert is one of a number of players taking advantage.
The former Comedy Central funnyman had been second place to NBC’s “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” until this season — when President Trump helped leapfrog the politically tinged show to the top spot for 15 weeks and counting.
“I could not have done it without a visionary leader, a legend of television who made ‘The Late Show’ what it is. Thank you, Donald Trump. It is an honor every night to be on stage and talk about that day’s Trump scandal,” said Colbert.
James Corden, who follows Colbert in CBS’s latenight lineup, introduced “Star Trek: Discovery,” one of a legion of reboots hitting the broadcast networks this fall, saying: “I am perfect for ‘Star Trek.’ I also come from a distant planet where there is no life — at 12:35 a.m.”
CBS also announced that Corden will helm the Gram- mys from Madison Square Garden when the show returns to New York in 2018.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Leslie Moonves called his schedule “must-see TV” — stealing NBC’s revived moniker for its own Thurs- day night comedies.
CBS also rolled out a new show, “Young Sheldon,” a comedy series about a neurotic kid, the younger version of “Big Bang Theory” character Sheldon Cooper.
CBS didn’t spend much time talking about the nuts and bolts of its digital performance, though sales boss Joann Ross also stressed the significance of counting “eyeballs,” versus computer-generated clicks and “no fraud.”