David Letterman Announces He’s Retiring From Late Night in 2015

During a taping of tonight's 'Late Show', host David Letterman announced to a shocked studio audience that he would be retiring in 2015 after his latest contract ends.

Though Letterman and CBS have yet to release an official statement, multiple guests who were scheduled to appear on tonight's broadcast tweeted the news and CNN has confirmed the report.

In October of 2013, Letterman extended his contract for an additional two years, keeping him on the air until 2015. Said Letterman at the time, "[CBS president] Les [Moonves] and I had a lengthy discussion, and we both agreed that I needed a little more time to fully run the show into the ground."

It's unclear what prompted Letterman's exit, but it's possible that once he outlived rival Jay Leno, he thought it was time to be done. Even without Leno, Letterman has faced stiff, and younger, competition from newcomers like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.

Letterman remains the longest running late-night talk-show host in history, clocking in at 31 years and counting.