Stephen Colbert Cancellation is a Consequence of Capitalism, Dave Portnoy Says

Dave Portnoy's not sorry to see Stephen Colbert's show ending ... pointing out this is just capitalism at work -- lose millions, find a new job!

The Barstool Sports founder took to X Saturday to fire off about CBS' cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" ... calling out Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders -- among others -- for claiming Paramount was politically motivated to give him the axe.

ICYMI ... Colbert went after his own network in his monologue early this week -- likening a $16 million lawsuit settlement over a "60 Minutes" interview President Donald Trump claimed was deceptively edited to a "big, fat bribe." A move Dave says is just pure "arrogance."

CBS announced it was canceling the show days later, leading some to wonder if the two events are connected.

Portnoy says if an employee at Barstool disrespected him on air AND if that employee's show was losing millions of dollars -- Reuters reports the show lost $40 million last year -- he'd scrap the project and host in a heartbeat.

Dave points out the decline in late-night viewership ... arguing it's more expensive and less watched than most podcasts at Barstool -- so, it just doesn't make fiscal sense to keep it going.

While Portnoy says he has a ton of respect for late-night talk shows -- his dad's a huge David Letterman fan -- he does admit he's not a Colbert guy ... and hasn't enjoyed his work since he left Comedy Central.

BTW ... Colbert delivered the news that he's out after this upcoming season to fans -- and he was more complimentary of the network than he had been previously, so we'll have to wait and see if he takes more shots at Paramount or lets sleeping dogs lie over the next year.