Fire David Letterman. That’s the chant that will be sounding from a rally to be held Tuesday afternoon infront of the Ed Sullivan theater in New York City. You’ve no doubt heard that recent comments Letterman made about Sarah Palin’s daughter in his nightly Top Ten list have sparked quite the controversy. Now many people, including some lawyers, are asking CBS to fire David Letterman. Well, since this is a financial blog, I figured I could bring finance into the debate here….
For various reasons not all known, Letterman’s nightly show has sky-rocketed in ratings recently. Perhaps it’s the Palin scandall, perhaps it’s Conan O’Brien taking over the Tonight Show. Who knows?
The point is, CBS has a serious financial and moral decision to make now. Whether or not Letterman intended to with his comments last week, he has put CBS in quite a situation. This controversy doesn’t intend on blowing over anytime soon like so many other things.
According to the opposition, CBS must fire David Letterman and thereby show they will not tolerate such disgraceful comments. On the other hand, CBS must think about the mountain of revenue that would be lost with such a decision, especially as ratings rise. This has become more than just a financial decision; this is a moral choice as well.
If you were a top CBS executive in this situation, what would you do? Would keeping the money flow be more important to you or firing the number one late night talk show host? It’s a tough decision. I’d like to know what you think.
You can visit firedavidletterman.com to see what the opposition has to say about the whole thing.
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