Stephen Colbert’s new YouTube venture prompts immediate action from CBS
Deposed CBS late night host Stephen Colbert has launched a YouTube channel after being axed from his long-running show.
So far he’s posted just one video, of his May 22 gig hosting the Michigan public access show “Only in Monroe” on Monroe Community Media. “It’s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount,” Colbert joked of the move to a much smaller outlet and his former employer.
The episode included appearances by Jack White and Jeff Daniels, as well as Eminem, Steve Buscemi (who did an ad for a local place actually called Buscemi’s Pizza & Subs) and Byron Allen, who bought Colbert’s old time slot on CBS to run programs from his Allen Media Group.
Colbert infamously launched “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on “Only in Monroe” in 2015 as a goof.
In a strange twist, Paramount’s CBS was issuing takedown notices to YouTubers who were uploading bootlegged copies of Colbert‘s “Only in Monroe” episode over the weekend.
But a CBS rep told Variety of the move: “Stephen Colbert’s return to Monroe in the ‘Only in Monroe’ episode was financed and produced by CBS Studios and was posted on Stephen Colbert’s YouTube channel in collaboration with Monroe Community Media and ‘The Late Show’s’ YouTube channels. As is our regular practice, we send copyright notices to unauthorized websites that post copyrighted content from CBS and our network/studio talent such as Stephen Colbert. However, for this episode, we have decided to waive further enforcement of this standard industry practice until additional review.”
