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What Colbert’s cancellation means for YouTube
The $12M business behind Vsauce

Best YouTube thumbnails of the week

How Colbert's Cancellation Will Change YouTube

Stephen Colbert had late night's top-rated show. This week, CBS announced it's cancelling it. Ouch.

Yes, this accelerated the inevitable: late night was already dying. But here's where it gets interesting...

Colbert's next move could change YouTube. Here's why.

Surprise, You're Fired

We're not here to talk politics, but to catch you up:

Colbert’s cancellation came after CBS paid $16M to settle with Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview, which airs on same network.

Paramount (CBS' parent company) is seeking a massive merger with Skydance, which needs Trump's approval. Axing Colbert is rumored to help curry favor.

CBS isn't replacing Colbert. They're cancelling the entire Late Night Show franchise. 32 years of history. Gone.

But Here's The Thing

Colbert has 10 months before he's off the air. 10 frickin' months.

His popularity will only surge just like Conan O'Brien's did during his late night controversy.

Imagine the exit opportunities.

Streaming platforms will come calling. But if you're Colbert, you'll likely take your popularity straight to...you guessed it, YouTube. Where nobody can cancel you.

And where your massive library of late night clips will recommend any new channel you start (since CBS likely won't let Colbert keep his current channel).

Colbert Isn't Alone

He wouldn't be the first to go from TV to YouTube:

Hasan Minhaj launched Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know on YouTube after Netflix cancelled his show. Now, he has 2M subs.

Piers Morgan moved his show Uncensored to YouTube after leaving TV. Now, he has 4M subs.

Conan doubled down on YouTube after leaving his show and now has 10M subs.

But Colbert is the whale. The biggest name with the biggest show.

His move to YouTube after Late Night could mean CBS, NBC, and ABC will re-think their other productions, too.

Now The Kicker

The big spenders on those TV networks like P&G, Unilever, and L'Oréal will bring even more dollars over to YouTube following Colbert's exit.

Sure, brands look at data. But legacy and perception still matter. A lot. And nobody carries that more than Colbert.

Show Me The Money

The Late Show burns $100M per year.

Compare that to interview shows on YouTube like Hot Ones or Chicken Shop Date, which rack up over 1.5M views per episode yet spend only $6K per episode.

Sure, it's not the same production value. But you can't beat the math:

Lower cost + higher popularity + more creative freedom = new era for Colbert (and YouTube) post cancellation.

CBS may have just dug its own grave.

Vsauce Returns: Inside His $12M Science Empire

After years away from YouTube, Vsauce just made a surprise return.

Last week, Michael Stevens (the host of Vsauce) dropped his first full-length video in 3 years.

But here's the thing: although he’s been absent from YouTube, he never stopped building.

Enter: The Curiosity Box

While Vsauce only posted 8 videos in the past 5 years — behind the scenes, he was focused on something else: The Curiosity Box, a STEM subscription service launched in 2016.

By 2022, it had:

Over 10,000 active subscribers

Over 170 original science products

$200K+ raised for Alzheimer’s research

Recently, Vsauce's Curiosity Box got acquired for $12M by MEL Science

Goodbye, Algorithm

Having a subscription business may have been one of the big reasons Vsauce was able to take such a long hiatus.

He wasn't a slave to algorithim. He could take time off and come back when he wanted. Which is exactly what he did.

Jake Roper, host of the spin-off channel Vsauce3 and Curiosity Box COO, said it up best:

“It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, it’s for your own audience.’ No, this is a real business. We built something. Creators do create actual businesses.”

Our Take

Vsauce's Curiosity Box laid the foundation for today's creator brands like Feastables, Prime, Crunch Labs, and more.

Back in 2016, however, launching a product line as a YouTuber was rare. Especially for an education channel. But Vsauce showed it was possible.

Now with his recent upload, it's unclear whether Vsauce will keep posting to YouTube.

But truth is, he no longer has to.

🎯 Weekly Roundup: YouTube Thumbnails

Why we love these YouTube thumbnails:

Wired-up runner + “Superhuman Speed” text makes you wonder what this device actually does (Chris Howett)
2.5-second pit stop with frozen red figures instantly grab your attention (neo)
Gowing heatmap + “Ghost Continent” label taps into mystery and discovery (BRIGHT SIDE)
Before/After contrast + mysterious cleanup machine makes you want to see how it works (Planet Wild)

🚀 Weekly Outlier

This video by AI In Context has 1.2M views, which is 67 times higher than the channel’s average. Here's why it took off:

Timely and Tense: Unpacks how AI is shifting global power, tapping into geopolitical anxiety.

Big Names, Big Stakes: Features OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepMind — driving curiosity and authority.

Smart + Accessible: Explains a complex topic clearly, making viewers feel informed, not overwhelmed.

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