CBS’ decision to cut ties with Stephen Colbert and its decades-old “Late Show” franchise come next May will leave a major hole in the format — but one that has been widening. TV networks have been cutting costs at their late-night mainstays for the past few years.

W hen CBS embarked on the project of replacing David Letterman as the host of The Late Show, in 2014, the network spared no expense. It hired Stephen Colbert, who had collected Emmys and acclaim while hosting his Comedy Central talk show,

CBS also recently canceled host Taylor Tomlinson's “After Midnight,” which aired after “The Late Show.” The announcement came two days after Colbert spoke out against CBS Global settling with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” story.