Byron Allen Acquires Majority Stake in BuzzFeed, Targets Starz

Byron Allen has acquired a majority stake in BuzzFeed, the digital media company that also owns HuffPost. The deal values the transaction at $20 million in cash plus an additional $100 million payable five years from now. The acquisition adds BuzzFeed and HuffPost to Allen Media Group’s existing portfolio. TV.

Allen said the goal is to transform Allen Media Group into a company powered by a significant free advertising video-on-demand platform. Local Now, now supplemented with content from BuzzFeed and HuffPost, is intended to serve that role. He also seeks a subscription video-on-demand service to complement the advertising-focused assets.

Allen has taken a notable stake in Starz and identified it as his next target for a full takeover. “SVOD, subscription video on-demand, and AVOD, advertising video on-demand,” Allen said. The move occurs the day after The Late Show ends its 33-year run, with Comics Unleashed beginning on May 22 under a one-season time-buy arrangement.

Colbert contacted Allen after learning of the scheduling change. Allen described their ongoing text exchanges and said Colbert referred to him as the youngest comedian ever to perform on The Tonight Show at age 18. ” He added that he believes Colbert will remain part of the media landscape.

Allen said he did not know all the details of CBS’s decision to end The Late Show, which had been reported to lose $40 million a year. He noted that he has invested about $1 billion to acquire ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates across the country, including stations in Hawaii and Tucson, Arizona.

From a Dining Room Table Allen started his company from his dining room table in 1993. He contacted all 1,200 television stations in the United States to carry his weekly interview series Entertainers with Byron Allen. He described periods when his home went into foreclosure, his phone was disconnected, and he made calls from payphones.

Allen said he persisted, eventually building one of the largest privately held television libraries and media companies. The company currently has 74 shows in syndication and is the largest provider of first-run syndicated programming, with 13 hours per day of television content.

Comics Unleashed has been in syndication for 20 years and has produced more than 300 episodes. Allen addressed past bids for other media assets, including BET, Paramount, ABC, CNN and NFL teams. He said he raised the necessary capital for the Paramount bid, including a $4 billion real estate component, but the seller chose not to proceed.

He stated that capital is readily available for good deals. Allen cited his purchase of The Weather Channel, saying he raised that funding in one day. Allen Media Group underwent layoffs in 2024 and sold about one-third of its television station portfolio for $171 million last year.

Allen described the changes as rightsizing in response to declines in linear television spending. He noted that the company did not conduct layoffs during the pandemic. Allen said the recent cuts were made thoughtfully after the economy recovered and job opportunities existed elsewhere.