Editing Late Show with David Letterman (section)

==History==
CBS had previously attempted late-night talk shows with ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'' (1969–1972) and ''[[The Pat Sajak Show]]'' (1989–1990), but Griffin clashed with network censors and moved to [[broadcast syndication|syndication]] while Sajak was unable to compete with [[NBC]]'s ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' and was canceled due to poor ratings. For most of the 20 years preceding ''Late Show'', CBS's late night fare consisted of movies, reruns and specialty programming packaged under the name 
''[[The CBS Late Movie|CBS Late Night]]'' and broadcast to middling ratings. When David Letterman became available following [[The Tonight Show#Jay Leno (1992–2009)|a conflict with NBC]], CBS was eager to lure him and offered him a three-year, $14&nbsp;million per year contract,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/01/29/david-lettermans-contract/|title=Is Dave Worth It?|magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Mark |last=Harris|date=January 29, 1993|access-date=December 7, 2011}}</ref> doubling his ''[[Late Night with David Letterman|Late Night]]'' salary. According to their agreement, the show would spend a month in Hollywood at least once a year.<ref name="NYT" />

CBS purchased the [[Ed Sullivan Theater]] for $4&nbsp;million, spending "several million" to renovate it.<ref name="NYT">{{cite web|last=Carter |first=Bill |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/22/theater/cbs-buys-a-theater-to-keep-letterman-on-new-york-s-stage.html |title=CBS Buys a Theater To Keep Letterman On New York's Stage |work=The New York Times |date=February 22, 1993|access-date=February 22, 2014}}</ref> The renovation was supervised by architect [[James Polshek]].<ref name="NYT" /> CBS' total cost for acquiring the show including renovations, negotiation rights paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer [[Bill Wendell]], Shaffer, the writers and the band was over $140&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://mancave.cbslocal.com/2011/04/11/david-letterman-keeping-us-up-late/ |title= David Letterman: Keeping Us Up Late |work= Mancave |date= April 11, 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140222015146/http://mancave.cbslocal.com/2011/04/11/david-letterman-keeping-us-up-late/ |archive-date= February 22, 2014 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

A significant issue regarding Letterman's move to CBS was the ownership of long-running comedy bits used on ''Late Night,'' as well as the name of the CBS show itself. NBC claimed that much of what he did on ''Late Night'' was [[intellectual property]] of the network.  Letterman and his attorneys countered that some segments ("Stupid Pet Tricks", for example) pre-dated ''Late Night'' and had first aired on ''[[The David Letterman Show]]'', which was owned by Letterman's production company rather than NBC, and others, such as the [[Late Show Top Ten List|Top Ten List]] and Viewer Mail, were [[Public domain|not eligible for intellectual property protection]] and belonged neither to Letterman nor NBC.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://wivb.com/2015/05/20/news-4s-close-encounters-with-david-letterman-from-the-90s/|last=Walker|first=Jacquie|title=News 4's close encounters with David Letterman from the 90s|work=WIVB-TV|date=May 20, 2015|access-date=May 21, 2015}}</ref>   Ultimately a compromise was reached in key areas: the "Viewer Mail" segment would be called the "CBS Mailbag"; the actor portraying Larry "Bud" Melman on ''Late Night'' would use his real name, [[Calvert DeForest]], on the CBS show; and Paul Shaffer's "World's Most Dangerous Band" would become the "CBS Orchestra".

NBC gave Letterman the choice of at least two options to name his new show, ''Late Show with David Letterman'' or ''Nightly with David Letterman''. On this matter CBS executives stepped in, rejecting ''Nightly'' in part because of potential confusion with ''[[Nightline]]'' on ABC, along with the ''[[NBC Nightly News]]''. Thus, ''Late Show with David Letterman'' quickly became the official name.

After Letterman was introduced on ''Late Show''{{'}}s very first episode, ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor [[Tom Brokaw]] accompanied him on stage and wished him "reasonably well".<ref>{{cite AV media | date=August 30, 1993 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIt3za554dM | title=The Late Show August 30, 1993 | time=6:02 | via=YouTube }}</ref> As part of a pre-arranged act, Brokaw then proceeded to retrieve a pair of [[cue cards]] while stating that "These last two jokes are the intellectual property of NBC!" After he carried them off stage, Letterman responded, "Who would have thought you would ever hear the words 'intellectual property' and 'NBC' in the same sentence?" In his opening monologue, Letterman said "Legally, I can continue to call myself Dave"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6D9173FF932A0575BC0A965958260 |title=Review/Television; New Time, New Place, Same Humor |work=The New York Times |date=August 31, 1993 |access-date=May 15, 2011|first=Janet |last= Maslin}}</ref> but joked that he woke up that morning and next to him in bed was the head of a [[NBC logos|peacock]] (while the orchestra played the theme from ''[[The Godfather]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE0DF113CF936A3575AC0A965958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FL%2FLeno%2C%20Jay |title=AUG. 29–Sept. 4; Mega-Mouths: Jay and Dave Head-to-Head |work=The New York Times |date=September 5, 1993 |access-date=May 15, 2011|first=Tom |last= Kuntz}}</ref>

In ratings, Letterman's ''Late Show'' dominated [[Jay Leno]]'s ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno|Tonight Show]]'' for its first two years. Leno pulled ahead on July 10, 1995, starting with a [[Hugh Grant]] interview, after Grant's much-publicized arrest for picking up a Los Angeles prostitute.<ref name="Hugh Grant Arrest">{{cite news |first=Natalie |last=Finn|title=Tonight Show Turns 15|publisher=[[E! News]]|date=May 24, 2007|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=76695462-4337-480d-ba55-6f912673286a |access-date=August 28, 2007}}</ref> Leno also benefited from the lead-in provided by NBC's popular ''[[Must See TV]]'' prime time programs of the mid-to-late 1990s. Likewise, the CBS network was hindered by a weak prime time lineup, along with several large- and major-market [[U.S. television network affiliate switches of 1994|network affiliation switches in late 1994]] relating to [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]'s acquisition of CBS's [[National Football League]] rights, stunting the ''Late Show'' just as it was beginning to gain traction.

Announcer [[Bill Wendell]] retired in 1995,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-18-ca-36624-story.html|title=Letterman's Show Losing Its Voice : Television: Bill Wendell's send-off has been less than warm despite his 15-year relationship with the talk-show host.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 18, 1995 }}</ref> with [[Alan Kalter]] taking his place.

At times ''Late Show'' even came in third in its time slot (behind ''Nightline'', most recently in November 2008), once prompting Letterman to arrange for a [[Manhattan]] [[billboard]] proudly declaring himself and his show to be No.&nbsp;3 in Late Night, aping an older, nearby billboard which promoted Leno and ''The Tonight Show'' as No.&nbsp;1. Letterman attempted to respond by making his show more political, aping the approach taken by ''[[The Daily Show]]'' under [[Jon Stewart]].<ref name=2017interview>{{cite news|last=Marchese|first=David|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/david-letterman-in-conversation.html?mid=twitter_vulture|title=In Conversation: David Letterman|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=March 5, 2017|access-date=March 6, 2017}}</ref> He acknowledged in 2024 that he believed that the ''Late Show'' had lost ground to ''Tonight'' because Leno was an everyman whose show was "more likable than the show I was doing," and that Letterman had made "certain elemental mistakes" that handicapped the ''Late Show's'' performance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baron |first=Zach |date=2024-12-11 |title=David Letterman Says ‘Retirement Is a Myth’ in His GQ Video Cover Story |url=https://www.gq.com/story/david-letterman-gq-video-cover-story |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=GQ |language=en-US}}</ref>

On June 1, 2009, [[Conan O'Brien]] (who had succeeded Letterman as [[Late Night with Conan O'Brien|host of ''Late Night'']] in 1993) took over as host of ''The Tonight Show''—an event Letterman referenced in his own show's Top Ten List on that night—and Letterman's "feud" with Leno temporarily ceased. In 2008 Letterman told ''Rolling Stone'' that he would welcome Leno on his show once Leno's tenure ended.<ref name="Letterman baffled">{{cite news |title=Letterman Baffled by NBC's replacing of Leno |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/arts/television/03lett.html |last=Stelter |first=Brian |work=The New York Times |date=September 2, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2009}}</ref> Letterman said on competing with O'Brien, "I still find it hard to believe that Jay won't be there."<ref name="Letterman baffled"/> The interview was held prior to Leno announcing his return to NBC for ''[[The Jay Leno Show]]''.<ref name="Letterman baffled"/> In the second week after Letterman and O'Brien began their opposing broadcasts, viewer ratings for ''Tonight'' began to slip and ''Late Show'' was poised to beat ''Tonight'' for the first time in over ten years,<ref name="Letterman baffled"/><ref name="Who's loyal">{{cite web |title=Who's Loyal to Leno, O'Brien, and Letterman? |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Television/story?id=7797222&page=1 |last=Fisher |first=Luchina |publisher=ABC News |date=June 10, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2009}}</ref> a fact pointed out by Letterman's guests on air ([[Howard Stern]] and [[Julia Roberts]]).<ref name="Who's loyal"/><ref name="Roberts sides">{{cite web |title=Roberts Sides with Letterman |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/roberts-sides-letterman-late-night-wbna31210920 |author=Access Hollywood |publisher=Today.com |date=June 10, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2009}}</ref> Letterman quickly tried to change the subject in the interviews and tried to avert a new rivalry.<ref name="Who's loyal"/><ref name="Roberts sides"/> In fact, the June 9, 2009 episode of ''Late Show'' featuring Roberts rated better than ''Tonight'' with a 3.4 household rating nationally to O'Brien's 2.9.<ref name="Who's loyal"/><ref name="Roberts helps">{{cite web|title=David Letterman: Julia Roberts Helps Him Beat Conan O'Brien for First Time; Denzel Washington, Jonas Brothers Visit Thursday |url=http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2009/06/david-letterman-julia-roberts-helps-him-beat-conan-obrien-for-first-time-regis-philbin-to-give-top-t.html |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=June 10, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614175758/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2009/06/david-letterman-julia-roberts-helps-him-beat-conan-obrien-for-first-time-regis-philbin-to-give-top-t.html |archive-date=June 14, 2009 }}</ref> The Letterman/Leno feud was revived in the wake of the [[2010 Tonight Show conflict|2010 ''Tonight Show'' conflict]], which saw Letterman side with O'Brien.<ref name="Dave with CoCo">{{cite web |title=Why Jay Leno and David Letterman Hate Each Other |url=http://www.popeater.com/2010/01/27/why-jay-leno-and-david-letterman-hate-each-other/ |last=Ryan |first=Mike |publisher=PopEater |date=January 27, 2010 |access-date=February 2, 2010}}</ref> Despite the rivalry, Leno appeared in a ''Late Show'' promo with Letterman and [[Oprah Winfrey]] which aired on CBS during [[Super Bowl XLIV]]; it was Leno and Letterman's first joint appearance since Leno took over the ''Tonight Show'' in 1992. The feud between the hosts ended for good on February 6, 2014, with Leno's second and final retirement and ''Late Night'' host [[Jimmy Fallon]], who succeeded Conan O'Brien in 2009, becoming the current host of the ''Tonight Show'' on February 17, with its subsequent return to New York for the first time since 1972.

On April 3, 2012, CBS reached an agreement with Worldwide Pants and CBS Television Studios to continue the show through 2014. The parties reached another agreement in October 2013 to extend the show an additional year, continuing the series into 2015.<ref name="cbscorporation.com">{{cite press release|url=http://www.cbscorporation.com/news-article.php?id=871 |title=CBS Announces New Contract Extensions with Late Night stars David Letterman and Craig Ferguson Through 2015 |publisher=CBS Corporation |date=April 3, 2012 |access-date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> Including his 11 years on NBC, Letterman is the longest tenured late-night talk show host, having surpassed [[Johnny Carson]].<ref name="Bibel"/>

On April 10, 2014, one week after Letterman announced that he would retire as host of ''Late Show'' in 2015, CBS announced that his successor as the host of the program would be [[Stephen Colbert]], then host of competing late-night series ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' on [[Comedy Central]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Stephen Colbert Next Host of 'The Late Show'|url=http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/news/1002302/|publisher=CBS|access-date=April 10, 2014}}</ref> Letterman's last ''Late Show'' aired May 20, 2015. In February 2022, David Letterman's official [[YouTube]] channel opened, and contains clips from Letterman's ''Late Show'' and his previous morning and late night shows on NBC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/david-letterman-late-night-anniversary-youtube-channel-1234925070/|title=Watch David Letterman's Return to 'Late Night' For Show's 40th Anniversary As Trove Of Classic Clips Drops On YouTube|first=Tom|last=Tapp|date=2 February 2022}}</ref>