CBS is handing the coveted post-Super Bowl programming block to its newest late-night host, Stephen Colbert.

The network announced on Wednesday that Mr. Colbert’s “The Late Show” would run live with a one hour episode after Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016, and that its other late-night host, James Corden, would broadcast his late night show following the local news. It’s the first time CBS has ever given a late-night show the post-Super Bowl spot, which is usually a massive ratings guarantee. The post-Super Bowl slot is prime real estate that network executives have traditionally given to shows that can guarantee a strong performance, or, in more recent years, for a show they have high hopes for and want to expose to an enormous audience, which is traditionally north of 20 million viewers.

Mr. Colbert’s show debuted in September and has received warm reviews but the show trails Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” in both total viewers and in the 18-to-49 year old demographic important to advertisers. So far this season, Jimmy Fallon is averaging 3.8 million viewers a night, compared to Mr. Colbert’s 3.3 million and Jimmy Kimmel’s 2.5 million viewers.

The Super Bowl rotates among the three networks with National Football League rights: CBS, NBC and Fox. Last year, NBC followed the Super Bowl with its drama “The Blacklist,” which drew 25 million viewers (Fox has announced after this year’s NFC Championship game, it will broadcast the return of “The X-Files”).