{"id":2326,"date":"2026-06-17T14:10:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:10:07","slug":"cbs-pays-licensing-fee-for-stephen-colberts-parting-peanuts-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326","title":{"rendered":"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Funnyman Stephen Colbert got one last laugh at CBS by using music from \u201cPeanuts\u201d while joking that the publisher who owns those rights is famously litigious.<\/p>\n

Read more 2 California men among those accused of plotting to attack UFC matches at White House<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOh no, I hope this doesn\u2019t cost CBS any money,\u201d he joked as his house band played a snippet from the \u201cPeanuts\u201d tune \u201cLinus and Lucy,\u201d by composer Vince Guaraldi, on the May 21 finale of \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.\u201d The upbeat jazz composition, with its boppy piano riff, is what most people think of as the \u201cPeanuts\u201d theme song.<\/p>\n

Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. (LMFP), which controls Guaraldi\u2019s music, said Tuesday that it had entered into \u201ca licensing agreement with CBS for the use of Guaraldi\u2019s \u2018Linus and Lucy\u2019 in the final broadcast of Colbert\u2019s program.\u201d<\/p>\n

A company statement added that proceeds from its deal with CBS is being donated to the nonprofit organization World Central Kitchen headed by Chef Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

Colbert\u2019s penultimate show included a $2.5 million donation to that charity, which feeds people in need due to natural disasters or humanitarian crisis. The money was raised through an auction of \u201cLate Show\u201d memorabilia.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump ballroom to cost $600 million with half paid by taxpayers: report<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLMFP found the music\u2019s use on \u2018The Late Show\u2019 funny and entertaining, and is proud to support World Central Kitchen\u2019s mission,\u201d the company\u2019s chairman said.<\/p>\n

LMFP has recently taken legal action against companies and government agencies that infringe upon its artists\u2019 rights. The production company added that it enforces licensing protection to remind anyone who uses its music in a commercial setting that permission to do so is required.<\/p>\n

CBS said its decision to end \u201cThe Late Show\u201d after 33 years on the air was because the program was reportedly losing $40 million annually.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Critics suggest the network\u2019s 2025 acquisition by Paramount Skydance Corporation, which has a friendly relationship with President Trump, was a factor, with the new owner happy to take one of the administration\u2019s harshest critics off its airwaves.<\/p>\n

Read more Eye on the Hills: Casa De Chocolates lands sweet location in the Glenview District<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CBS paid a licensing fee after Stephen Colbert used legally protected music from “Peanuts” on his final “Late Show” episode. The money was donated to charity. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nCBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CBS paid a licensing fee after Stephen Colbert used legally protected music from "Peanuts" on his final "Late Show" episode. The money was donated to charity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T14:10:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T14:10:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326\"},\"wordCount\":378,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326\",\"name\":\"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T14:10:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":623},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2326#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke - Next City Digest","og_description":"CBS paid a licensing fee after Stephen Colbert used legally protected music from \"Peanuts\" on his final \"Late Show\" episode. The money was donated to charity.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T14:10:07+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke","datePublished":"2026-06-17T14:10:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326"},"wordCount":378,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp","articleSection":["Things To Do"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326","name":"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-17T14:10:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0b556b6083a202c66f856bb22aed0db1.webp","width":1024,"height":623},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2326#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CBS pays licensing fee for Stephen Colbert\u2019s parting \u2018Peanuts\u2019 joke"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}