{"id":32846,"date":"2026-05-25T19:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T19:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/32846\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T19:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T19:40:19","slug":"cbs-halts-crackdown-on-colbert-only-in-monroe-uploads-after-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/32846\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS halts crackdown on Colbert ‘Only in Monroe’ uploads after backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

CBS yanked copyright takedown notices targeting uploads of Stephen Colbert\u2019s surprise return<\/a> to a tiny Michigan public-access TV show in the wake of online backlash.<\/p>\n

The Paramount-owned network had been issuing the notices against YouTube users who reposted Colbert\u2019s appearance on \u201cOnly in Monroe,\u201d the Monroe Community Media public-access program that the comic famously hosted once in 2015 before taking over CBS\u2019 \u201cLate Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

CBS Studios financed and produced the episode that aired Friday and went viral online over the weekend. Some fans complained online about receiving notices to remove their pirated versions of the show from their accounts.<\/p>\n

CBS quickly backtracked as critics accused the company of censorship. News of the decision was first reported by Variety.<\/a><\/p>\n

Stephen Colbert returned to Monroe, Mich., public-access TV less than 24 hours after ending his 11-year run at CBS. Youtube\/The Desk<\/p>\n

\u201cStephen Colbert\u2019s return to Monroe in the \u2018Only in Monroe\u2019 episode was financed and produced by CBS Studios and was posted on Stephen Colbert\u2019s YouTube channel in collaboration with Monroe Community Media and \u2018The Late Show\u2019s\u2019 YouTube channels,\u201d a CBS spokesperson told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs\u00a0is our regular practice, we send copyright notices to unauthorized websites that post copyrighted\u00a0content from CBS and our network\/studio talent such as Stephen Colbert.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, for this episode, we have decided to waive further enforcement of this standard industry practice until additional review,\u201d the spokesperson concluded.<\/p>\n

Colbert mocked CBS and Paramount repeatedly during his surprise \u201cOnly in Monroe\u201d comeback special. Youtube\/The Desk<\/p>\n

The takedown notices appeared to be routine copyright enforcement by a major media company seeking to protect intellectual property it financed and owned, according to former CBS exec Derek Reisfield, who co-founded MarketWatch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like CBS\u2019 Legal Department was following its standard procedures,\u201d he told The Post, adding that networks regularly move to protect copyrighted material that\u2019s posted online without authorization.<\/p>\n

Reisfield questioned why Colbert partnered with CBS on the Monroe production in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real question in my mind is why Stephen Colbert didn\u2019t just do it on his own and have a clean break with CBS,\u201d Reisfield told The Post.<\/p>\n

Colbert\u2019s Monroe appearance was framed as a nostalgic return to the stripped-down public-access roots that bookended his 11-year CBS tenure.<\/p>\n

The host first appeared on \u201cOnly in Monroe\u201d a few months before debuting \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert,\u201d in what many viewed as a quirky rehearsal for network television.<\/p>\n

His return last week came less than 24 hours after his final CBS broadcast.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSince I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I spent 11 years as the primary host of \u2018The Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u2019 on CBS, which came to an end last night,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV,\u201d Colbert added with his trademark self-deprecation.<\/p>\n

The funnyman couldn\u2019t resist launching some zingers at his former corporate bosses, repeatedly mocking CBS and Paramount during the low-budget Monroe production.<\/p>\n

Thanking Monroe Community Media for giving him airtime less than a day after his \u201cLate Show\u201d exit, Colbert joked he was happy to appear \u201cbefore they also get acquired by Paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert hosted \u201cThe Late Show\u201d on CBS for more than a decade before signing off last week. CBS<\/p>\n

Later, after remarking that the tiny public-access operation had \u201clost a lot of money making the show tonight,\u201d he deadpanned: \u201cNow I know how CBS felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

He even mocked the network\u2019s streaming struggles while explaining viewers could watch online, saying streaming was something he \u201cpromised not to learn about while I was on CBS\u201d before adding: \u201cEvidently, CBS also decided not to learn about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Monroe special featured appearances from Jack White, Jeff Daniels, Steve Buscemi, Byron Allen and Eminem.<\/p>\n

Unofficial YouTube uploads quickly exploded online \u2014 in some cases outperforming Colbert\u2019s official upload.<\/p>\n

One repost from a channel called \u201cThe Desk\u201d racked up more than 620,000 views, according to Variety, compared with roughly 392,000 views on Colbert\u2019s official page at the time.<\/p>\n

Reisfield said CBS likely backed down because the optics of aggressively policing a sentimental public-access-style farewell weren\u2019t worth the headache \u2014 particularly given Colbert\u2019s ongoing popularity with viewers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the general public, and especially the Colbert fans, feels more affinity and alignment with Colbert than CBS corporate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy guess is in the overall scheme of things, especially since this is a one-off production and the CBS relationship with Colbert is over, someone at corporate decided it wasn\u2019t worth the hassle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reisfield predicted that the comedian could ultimately thrive outside the traditional television system by leveraging his large audience directly online.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a large, dedicated following and can probably launch something successful using social media channels,\u201d Reisfield told The Post. \u201cHe will have to be an entrepreneur as well as a comedian. It\u2019s very doable for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from Monroe Community Media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CBS yanked copyright takedown notices targeting uploads of Stephen Colbert\u2019s surprise return to a tiny Michigan public-access TV…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[4095,3748,15236,8,1451,9,296,369,7],"class_list":["post-32846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-stories","tag-cbs","tag-cbs-news","tag-colbert","tag-headlines","tag-media","tag-news","tag-paramount","tag-stephen-colbert","tag-top-stories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116636917736115287","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}