i have not watched anything on tv since early 2007. like, at all. i might watch ten minutes in a bar here and there or something. i have no understanding of what tv even is at this point, and i'm really not remotely interested.
in fact, the years between about 1998 and 2007 were themselves a process of slowly tuning out. i don't think i've watched a single full snl episode since they cut norm mcdonald and i've pointed out before that it's really directed at teenagers staying up late on saturday night. you grow out of it by design. i have not watched a single sitcom or even anything at all in prime time since the end of seinfeld. i have not been interested in drama on tv since they cut the xfiles.
after 2002, i was pretty busy - working, going to school, composing and even spending time with friends. i did not have a lot of time or interest in tv. i would watch the odd episode of conan o'brien or jon stewart, and a lot of simpsons reruns, and that was really the totality of tv i had interest in or time for.
i did not think stephen colbert was very funny. he was a very safe, conservative comedian that wanted to appeal to an upper class audience. he was not very silly, but he wasn't very sharp, either. he went after low lying fruit, in conscious attempts to appeal to high brow but low intellect audiences. he was a good fit for the show, but i just didn't watch the 11:30 slot, even when i watched a lot of tv, as a young kid. even if i had a tv set up with a cable (and i have not since 2007 and never will again), i would not have watched a mediocre, middle of the road, safe as fuck, don't-offend-anybody style comedian like stephen colbert. that's not something i would be remotely interested in.
i expect that they will bring the format back relatively shortly and this is just as an excuse to cut his contract and let him go.