rkets also air The Colbert Report Global Edition, which shows highlights from the previous week's shows and includes a special introduction by Stephen Colbert at the start of the program. This means a new or newly repackaged episode can be screened every weekday. In addition most recent episodes (usually 3 weeks back) are available in full length on colbertnation.com. Howeve

the Philippines. As of 2012, The Colbert Report has also been broadcast in Africa on DSTV's version of Comedy Central. It aired on FX in the United Kingdom until they decided not to renew their contract in May 2009.[113] The show also has a strong following in Ireland.[citation needed] In Portugal, it airs on Sic Radical.
Beginning June 3, 2008, The Colbert Report also aired on the ShowComedy channel of Showtime Arabia (Currently OSNComedy), a channel which broadcasts in the Middle East and North Africa.[114] The show is transmitted on a one-day delay from original transmission in the US.
The show was shown during prime time on Australia's free-to-air ABC2 in 2010, however the channel was outbid for rights for 2011.[115][116] The show was available directly on the colbernation.com website for part of 2011, with Australian advertisements, however Australian access is now blocked.
Several international markets also air The Colbert Report Global Edition, which shows highlights from the previous week's shows and includes a special introduction by Stephen Colbert at the start of the program. This means a new or newly repackaged episode can be screened every weekday.
In addition most recent episodes (usually 3 weeks back) are available in full length on colbertnation.com. However some international audiences are unable to view the videos or episodes.
Related multimedia[edit]

DVD[edit]
A DVD of highlights from the first two seasons of The Colbert Report was released by Comedy Central on November 6, 2007. Entitled The Best of The Colbert Report, the three-hour disc contains two "The Wørd" segments (including "Truthiness" from the first episode and "Wikiality"), one "Threat Down", various "Better Know a District" segments (including Robert Wexler), and interviews with Bill O'Reilly, Willie Nelson, and Jane Fonda (also included is Fonda's appearance with Gloria Steinem in a segment called "Cooking with Feminists"), as well as the special segments "Green Screen Challenge", "Stephen Jr. – Flight of a Patriot", "Indecision 2006: Midterm Midtacular", and Colbert's "Meta-Free-Phor-All" with Sean Penn.[117][118][119] Best Buy sold the DVD with a bonus disc containing several animated Tek Jansen adventures.[120]
An hour-long Christmas special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! was released on DVD November 25, 2008.[121]
Music[edit]
Comedy Central released the complete soundtrack of A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All, featuring songs by performers such as Feist, John Legend, Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, Jon Stewart, Elvis Costello, and Colbert himself. It was released exclusively through iTunes.
In June 2011, Jack White's record label Third Man Records released a 7" vinyl single of Stephen Colbert and The Black Belles performing "Charlene II (I'm Over You),"[122] which they also performed together on the show.[123]
I Am America (And So Can You!)[edit]
Main article: I Am America (And So Can You!)
Referred to as a "pure extension" of the show in book form,[citation needed] I Am America (And So Can You!) was released on October 9, 2007. Written by Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report writers, the book covers Colbert's opinions on a wide array of topics not addressed on the show. Red margin notes

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ields which had previously been kept in the Marvel offices.[106] On January 29, 2008, Quesada (now president of Marvel) returned to announce that Colbert's fictional campaign for the presidency was still active in the Marvel universe, references to which have appeared in Marvel comics since. Col

le being named after him, a treadmill on board the space station would be called the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT).[103]
Honors Bestowed by Media Organizations[edit]
Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 Returning Series of 2007, ranking it at #7.[104]
Colbert has appeared on the covers of several major magazines, including Wired, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Sports Illustrated (as sponsor of the US Speedskating team) and Newsweek, in which he was the Guest Editor.
On March 12, 2007, the Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, Joe Quesada, awarded Stephen Colbert the shield of the recently deceased superhero Captain America.[105] The letter to Colbert accompanying the shield stated that "the Star-Spangled Avenger has bequeathed... his indestructible shield to the only man he believed to have the red, white, and blue balls to carry the mantle." Colbert promised to use the shield "only to fight for justice...and to impress girls." It was, in fact, one of only two full-sized prop shields which had previously been kept in the Marvel offices.[106] On January 29, 2008, Quesada (now president of Marvel) returned to announce that Colbert's fictional campaign for the presidency was still active in the Marvel universe, references to which have appeared in Marvel comics since. Colbert appears on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #573.
At the end of 2008, The Colbert Report was named the number one television series of that year by Entertainment Weekly.
In 2010 Colbert won the Golden Tweet Award.
Arts[edit]
On October 17, 2008, it was announced that the portrait of Stephen from his second year of The Colbert Report was accepted into the national portrait collection at the National Museum of American History for its November reopening.
Athletics[edit]
On November 2, 2009, Colbert, representing the Colbert Nation, signed an on-air sponsorship agreement with U.S. speedskating executive director Robert Crowley.[107] Fundraising via The Colbert Report ultimately raised $300,000 for the US Winter Olympics speedskating team.[108] Coverage of the show's efforts also led to Colbert personally being invited to be the official ombudsman at the oval for the Olympics,[109] appointed as the official assistant sports psychologist for the US olympics speed skating team, and as such is now an official member of the team,[110][111] and invited by Dick Ebersol, to be part of NBC's 2010 Winter Olympics coverage team.[112]
Cultural impact[edit]

Main article: Cultural impact of The Colbert Report
See also: Vandalism on Wikipedia#Seigenthaler_incident
On Wikipedia, Stephen Colbert has been accused for editing the Elephant article. He has asked his fans to edit articles many times, and stated facts he knew wasn't true.
International distribution[edit]

Outside of the United States, The Colbert Report is shown in Canada on The Comedy Network. It airs on The Comedy Channel in Australia, Comedy Central in New Zealand, and on Maxxx in

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eneur. An inanimate character was created in response to Supreme Court ruling to lift the Washington, D.C. gun ban. Sweetness is a black Colt Detective Special that Colbert can hear talk to him. He will often converse with Sweetness by holding her up to hi

ox's The O'Reilly Factor; Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet The Press; Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary; and NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. On August 23 the cast was removed on air,[56] and it was announced that Colbert would auction off his cast for the Yellow Ribbon Fund on eBay. The auction began after that evening's show.[57] Within minutes of the auction's start, bidding quickly rose to over US$71,000. However, many bids were canceled because bidders failed to get pre-approved by the seller (which was required in the auction). It was sold for US$17,200.[58]
While Colbert's wrist was in the cast, the character began taking (and subsequently became addicted to) painkillers to deal with his injury, frequently taking absurd doses and displaying exaggerated withdrawal symptoms of irritability and hallucinations when they were denied. The cast was removed on television, after which The Report went on a brief hiatus, and following its return on September 10, Colbert claimed that, with help from a court order and rehab over the break, he had kicked his addiction.[59]
Colbert Bump[edit]
The boost in popularity many of Colbert's guests receive after appearing on the show has been nicknamed the "Colbert Bump". The first major instance of the "Bump" was after Colbert's 2007 interview with Congressman Ron Paul, who climbed two percentage points in Republican Party Primary polls after his appearance on the show.[60] The show's audience hits a highly valuable demographic both for politicians and advertisers, and Colbert has been able to get the "Colbert Nation" behind many different intitiatives, including the charity effort at donorschoose.org.[61] According to the American Political Science Association, contributions to Democratic politicians rose 40% for 30 days after an appearance on the show.[62]
Recurring characters[edit]
Main article: List of The Colbert Report characters
While the show is largely dominated by Colbert, there are a number of recurring characters who appear periodically. Colbert will frequently address the show's director, Jimmy—a reference to real-life Colbert Report director Jim Hoskinson—and will sometimes converse with him. On the rare occasions Jimmy has appeared on screen, he has been portrayed by staff writer Peter Gwinn. Building manager Tad, portrayed by Paul Dinello, has appeared on the show multiple times to host special segments. Other recurring members of Colbert's fictional staff have included Meg the intern (played by Meg DeFrancesco), Jay the intern (played by staff writer Jay Katsir), Bobby the stage manager (played by Eric Drysdale) and Killer (uncredited). Colbert himself has portrayed his character's Cuban alter ego, Esteban Colberto; and his Chinese alter ego, Ching Chong Ding Dong.
Early in the show's run, Stephen occasionally encountered Russ Lieber, a liberal media personality character portrayed by David Cross. Tim Meadows has also appeared on the show as P.K. Winsome, a black Republican and hucksterish entrepreneur.
An inanimate character was created in response to Supreme Court ruling to lift the Washington, D.C. gun ban. Sweetness is a black Colt Detective Special that Colbert can hear talk to him. He will often converse with Sweetness by holding her up to his ear and then relaying what she has said to the audience.
Colbert has also voiced Wilford Brimley in false phone conversations. Gorlock, Colbert's alien financial adviser, is another recurring character mentioned on the show. During June 2009, Jeff Goldblum frequently appeared to make supposedly spontaneous speeches that would inevitably finish with him promoting Law & Order: Criminal Intent.[63][64][65][66]
Additionally, R.E.M. lead vocalist Michael Stipe appears on the show periodically, sitting on a shelf as part of Stephen's permanent installation of memorabilia, calling "Hey-o!" (in emulation of Ed McMahon) or nodding at odd times.
Colbert's desk possesses its own arm, which will extend and receive a high-five from the host after he delivers a particularly clever or groan-worthy remark.
Reception[edit]

The Colbert Report currently scores favorable reviews, with 65/100 on Metacritic (first season), while its viewers ranking on the site is higher at 8.7/10.[67]
The Colbert Report drew an unusual amount of media attention prior to its premiere. It was featured in articles in The New Yorker, NPR's All Things Considered and Fresh Air, CNN, and The Washington Post. The New York Times alone ran three articles on the Report before its debut, and has made repeated references to The Colbert Report since then.[68] Maureen Dowd, for instance, referred to Colbert's "Dead To Me" board as a metaphor in her column, saying that Oprah Winfrey "should take a page from Stephen Colbert and put the slippery James Frey on her 'Dead to me' list".[69]
The Colbert Report drew 1.13 million viewers for its premiere episode, 47 percent greater than the average for that time slot over the previous four weeks,[70] and 98 percent of the viewership of The Daily Show, which has Comedy Central's second-largest viewership.[71] Averaged over its opening week, The Report had 1.2 million viewers per episode, more than double the average for the same time the previous year, when the time slot was occupied by Too Late with Adam Carolla. The premiere week of The Colbert Report also coincided with the second-highest-rated week of The Daily Show, behind the week leading up to the 2004 U.S. presidential election.[72]

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