 | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | |
| Predecessor | BYCA Productions |
| Founded | 1993; 33 years ago (1993) |
| Founder | Byron Allen |
| Headquarters | Century City, Los Angeles, California ,United States |
Key people | Byron Allen (chairman,CEO) |
| Total assets | $1 billion (2017) |
| Owner | Byron Allen |
Number of employees | 2,200 (2024) |
| Divisions | |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | allenmedia |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4] | |
Allen Media Group, alternatively known by its former name ofEntertainment Studios, Inc., is an American media and entertainment company based inLos Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessmanByron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and distribution of first-run television series for Americantelevision syndication. Under theEntertainment Studios Networks division, it also operates a group ofdigital cable andsatellite channels, which broadcast a mix of original programs and the company's syndicated content.
In the late 2010s, the company made several major expansions to its operations, including entering thefilm distribution market; acquiringThe Weather Channel fromNBCUniversal andBain Capital; partnering withSinclair Broadcast Group to operate theregional sports network chainBally Sports viaDiamond Sports Group; and its acquisition of television stations from another minority-owned media group,Bayou City Broadcasting.
With television experience as being a former co-host of theNBC seriesReal People from 1979 until 1984,stand-up comedian Byron Allen launched his own weekly syndicatedlate-night talk show,The Byron Allen Show, in 1989. It was produced by his BYCA Productions andAllbritton Communications, and distributed by Genesis Entertainment.[5]
By 1991, Allen had created BYCA Television Distribution to take over distribution of his talk show as well as syndicate other programs.[6] By early 1993, Allen's talk show, which became a weeknightstrip the previous fall,[7] had been cancelled, and BYCA Television Distribution had been embroiled in a lawsuit filed by former employees who claimed they had not been paid by Allen.[8] Amidst the legal and financial issues, creditors forced BYCA intoChapter 7 bankruptcy.[9] The same year, Allen foundedCF Entertainment.[10][11] Following a similar business model to BYCA, Allen was able to succeed where he had failed before by focusing on producing low-cost, syndicated non-fiction programming, including interview series andcourt shows (largely scripted from actual testimony). Allen served as host for some of these programs.[12] In December 2003, CF became Entertainment Studios.[11] Entertainment Studiosgreen-lit its first film and stage projects in December 2011, when it acquired the rights to develop abiographical film andtheatrical play on the life ofSammy Davis Jr. from his daughter,Tracey Davis.[13]
The company ventured into scripted programming in 2012, with the third-quarter launch of the sitcomsMr. Box Office andThe First Family.[14] Both were set for 104 episodes[14] over two years under a model of accelerated production similar toDebmar-Mercury's10-90 Model.[15] The two half-hour shows were picked up as a two-hour weekend primetimeprogramming block with two episodes of each show back to back byTribune,Weigel andCBS Television Station groups.[14]
The company launched its eighth cable channel and first ad-supported service, Justice Central.TV, on December 10, 2012.[16]
In 2015, the company separately suedAT&T,Comcast, andCharter Communications for racial discrimination in being biased against minority-run entertainment companies in not carrying its cable channels. AT&T settled in December with the addition of 7 of Entertainment Studios' channels added to AT&T'sDirecTV lineup. Entertainment Studios added similar suits against Charter and the FCC.[17] The Comcast case, though initially dismissed at the district court, was allowed to go forward by the Ninth Circuit; Comcast was able to successfully petition theSupreme Court to hear its case inComcast v. National Association of African-American-Owned Media in November 2019.
In October 2015, Entertainment Studios acquiredFreestyle Releasing for an undisclosed amount "said to be sealed for high-eight figures". Freestyle also had an output deal withNetflix.[10] The Freestyle purchase was used to bolster an expansion intofilm distribution, via its new Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures division.[18][19] Its first release,47 Meters Down, took in $44 million in box office revenue.[12]
In June 2016, Entertainment Studios acquiredTheGrio, a news website focusing on stories of interest to African Americans.[20]
In mid-September 2017, the company announced plans to launch anover the top sports streaming service known as Sports.tv.[21]
On March 22, 2018, Entertainment Studios announced its intent to acquireThe Weather Channel's television assets from anNBCUniversal/Bain Capital/Blackstone Inc. partnership. The actual value was undisclosed, but was reported to be around $300 million; the channel'snon-television assets, which were separately sold to IBM two years prior, were not included in the sale.[3] In September 2018, Entertainment Studios announced that it had arranged $500 million worth ofcredit facilities throughDeutsche Bank Securities,Jefferies Financial Group, Brightwood Capital Advisors andComerica. Allen explained that these funds were to be used for further "large-scale" acquisitions, productions, and other general expenses.[12][22] In an interview withVariety, Allen stated that he was "not a seller", and that he was "one or two acquisitions away from being a fairly large company".[12]
On May 3, 2019, it was announced that, under the subsidiary Diamond Sports Group, Entertainment Studios would be an equity and content partner inSinclair Broadcast Group's acquisition ofFox Sports Networks (now known asBally Sports).[23]
On May 6, 2019, Entertainment Studios announced that it would expand into television station ownership with the $165 million acquisition of four small-market TV stations fromBayou City Broadcasting, establishing Allen Media Broadcasting.[24][25] The company acquired another 11 broadcast television stations fromUSA TV in February 2020.[26]
In June 2020, Comcast agreed to carry Entertainment Studios' Comedy.TV, JusticeCentral.TV, Recipe.TV, and The Weather Channel, and to retransmission consent for the Allen Media Broadcasting television stations, as part of a settlement of the Supreme Court racial discrimination lawsuit.[27] Allen acquiredThis TV and Light TV from MGM in October.[28]
In April 2021, Allen acquired seven television stations fromGray Television, expanding the company's portfolio to 23 ABC-NBC-CBS-Fox network affiliate broadcast stations across 19 markets.[29]
In July 2022, Allen Media Group acquiredBlack News Channel out of bankruptcy fromShahid Khan for $11 million;[30] it was discontinued as a separate service, with its carriage merged into TheGrio.TV.[31][32]
In 2023, Allen made multiple high profile offers on legacy media assets. In September, he offered $10 billion to Disney forABC,FX, andNational Geographic Channel linear TV assets.[33] He then made a $3.5 billion bid for Paramount'sBET Media Group in December.[34] By January 2024, Allen's offer had become a $30 billion bid forParamount Global.[35] WhenSkydance Media's offer was accepted, he attempted to increase his bid.[36]
Beginning in late April 2024, Allen Media Group laid off about 300 employees, or around 12 percent of its staff, throughout all of its operating divisions. The company's explanation for the staff reduction is to better position themselves for further growth.[37] In August, it was reported that Allen Media had been consistently late in making payments to network owners.[38]
Further layoffs took place in January 2025, with announced plans to lay off nearly all meteorologists from its local television stations in favor of centralizing weather coverage at The Weather Channel.[39][40] However, following public criticism of the move, AMG partially reversed course and stated that it would retain some of its local meteorologists.[41][42]
In June 2025, Allen Media Group announced it would explore a sale of its 28 owned and operated broadcast TV stations.[43] On August 8, 2025, it was announced thatGray Media would acquire 10 stations for $171 million; expecting to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2025.[44]
In 2021 Allen sued fast food chainMcDonald's for $10 billion in federal court, alleging that the company "intentionally discriminated against Entertainment Studios and Weather Group through a pattern of racial stereotyping and refusals to contract" for advertising across its properties.[45][46] This suit was dismissed in late 2021.[47]
Allen sued McDonald's again in federal court, alleging racial discrimination. The company said the case was "about economic inclusion of African American-owned businesses in the U.S. economy. McDonald's takes billions from African American consumers and gives almost nothing back." The lawsuit alleged that Blacks represent 40% of fast food customers, but McDonald's spent just 0.3% of its $1.6 billion U.S. ad budget in 2019 on Black-owned media.[48]
Separately, in May 2021, McDonald's publicly promised to raise its spending on Black-owned media from 2% to 5% of its ad budget by 2024. Two years later, in 2023, Allen sued McDonald's in California courts for not honoring that promise.[49]
Both the federal suit and the state suit were settled before a scheduled federal trial in 2025 for undisclosed terms. McDonald's said it would buy ads "in a manner that aligns with its advertising strategy and commercial objectives" while Allen said "we acknowledge McDonald's commitment to investing in Black-owned media properties and increasing access to opportunity. Our differences are behind us."[50]
Entertainment Studios has historically been known for itssyndicated programs, which are distributed using abartered model that does not require stations to pay a rights fee. The company sells national advertising inventory guaranteeing an audience in aggregate across all of its programs, andshares the revenue with stations.[51] Allen explained toBloomberg in 2013 that this business model was attractive to stations that cannot afford to acquire programs from the syndication market, and that "we offer, across all our television shows, probably 20 million to 25 million viewers a week".[51]
The company has employed various cost-cutting techniques, including using non-union staff, and streamlining productions to reduce their complexity—a technique that also allows it to produce programming at an accelerated pace.[51] A prominent example of these practices are present in the company'scourt shows, which are dramatized with actors rather thanarbitration-based like other popular entries in the genre; Allen explained that with this model, "we don't have the cost of airfare, hotels, security; we don't have the costs of the claims, the settlements."[51] The studio's first production—Entertainers with Byron Allen—bypassed budget constraints by filming interviews atpress junkets, using equipment that was provided byfilm studios for use by the media.[52]
These practices have allowed some of Entertainment Studios programs to bring in sizable amounts of advertising revenue, even with clearances inlesser-viewed time slots such aslate night, or without having produced new episodes in an extended period.[51]
Allen Media Broadcasting, LLC is an American television station operating company owned by Allen Media Group. On May 6, 2019, Entertainment Studios announced that it would expand into television station ownership by acquiring the stations ofBayou City Broadcasting for $165 million, includingEvansville, Indiana'sWEVV-TV andWEEV-LD, andLafayette, Louisiana'sKADN-TV andKLAF-LD. The stations would operate under the new unit, Allen Media Broadcasting.[58] The sale was completed on July 31, 2019.[59] On October 1, 2019, Allen Media agreed to purchase 11 stations from USA Television, a subsidiary ofHeartland Media, for $290 million.[60] The sale of the Heartland stations was approved by the FCC on November 22, 2019,[61] and it was completed on February 11, 2020.[62]
In March 2020, Allen Media made an offer for theTegna station group as the third known bidder.[63] On August 17, 2020, the company announced its purchase of Hawaii ABC affiliateKITV fromSJL Broadcasting for $30 million.[64] On April 29, 2021, it was announced that Allen Media would purchase 10 stations in seven markets fromGray Television for $380 million, from a divestiture of stations owned byQuincy Media, as a condition of Gray's purchase of Quincy. These are stations where Gray already owned a station, and are mostly in the Upper Midwest.[65] In a separate deal with Gray, announced in July, Allen acquiredWJRT-TV inFlint, Michigan, while Gray retained competingWNEM-TV through its merger withMeredith Corporation's broadcasting division.[66]
On December 15, 2021, it was announced that Allen Media would purchaseWCOV-TV,WIYC andWALE-LD, all servingMontgomery, Alabama, from Woods Communications Corporation for $28.5 million, pending FCC approval; at the time, the deal was expected to close in the first half of 2022.[67] The sale would give the stations an in-state sibling inHuntsville-basedABC affiliateWAAY-TV.
In January 2025, Allen Media Group announced its intent to outsource the local weather coverage on all of its stations to The Weather Channel, with plans for meteorologists to be either laid off or reassigned to work from TWC's Atlanta studios.[39][68] These plans were quickly shelved after viewer feedback and other criticism.[69]
On June 2, 2025, amid financial woes and rising debt, Byron Allen announced that he would explore "strategic options" for the company, including a sale of its television stations in 21 markets.[70][71] Gray agreed to acquire stations in ten of these markets (KADN-TV/KLAF-LD,WAAY-TV,WCOV-TV,WEVV-TV/WEEV-LD,WFFT-TV,WLFI-TV,WREX,WSIL-TV/KPOB-TV,WTHI-TV, andWTVA) on August 8, 2025, in a combined $171 million deal.[72][73]
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state andcity of license.
The following over-the-air specialty networks were acquired by Allen Media Group fromMGM Television in October 2020.[74] As of 2025,TheGrio is the only television network left under Allen Media Group ownership.
| Year | Release Date | Film title | Director | Gross[75] | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | June 16, 2017 | 47 Meters Down | Johannes Roberts | $44.3 million | [76] |
| September 22, 2017 | Friend Request | Simon Verhoeven | $3.7 million | [77] | |
| December 22, 2017 | Hostiles | Scott Cooper | $40.9 million | [78] | |
| 2018 | March 9, 2018 | The Hurricane Heist | Rob Cohen | $15.8 million | [79] |
| April 6, 2018 | Chappaquiddick | John Curran | $18 million | [80] | |
| 2019 | January 11, 2019 | Replicas | Jeffrey Nachmanoff | $8.1 million | [81] |
| August 16, 2019 | 47 Meters Down: Uncaged | Johannes Roberts | $22.2 million | [82] | |
| September 20, 2019 | The Wedding Year | Robert Luketic | — | [83] | |
| November 1, 2019 | Arctic Dogs | Aaron Woodley | $3.6 million | [84] |
In 2016, Entertainment Studios began to make major expansions into film distribution; at theSundance Film Festival, the company made a surprise $20 million bid forThe Birth of a Nation, losing toFox Searchlight.[18] In July 2016, Entertainment Studios signed a multi-year home video and on-demand distribution deal withAnchor Bay Entertainment, covering future theatrical releases by the company.[56] The studio acquired its first film later that month, with the North American rights to47 Meters Down fromDimension Films.[76] At the 2017Toronto Film Festival, Entertainment Studios also boughtChappaquiddick,Replicas, andHostiles.[78] Entertainment Studios aimed to distribute at least 18 films in 2018. In January of that year, on his film distribution model, Allen said:[19]
We're chasing the studio crumbs. They don't want movies that do $40 million to $60 million. We totally will be good with those numbers, and that is what we're pursuing. Our thing is we are really big on slow roll-outs and small releases. Our philosophy—we believe in wide releases. We like to have movies that are 1,500–4,000 screens and we are chasing what the studios don't want. They're chasing much bigger. And we're going to take their crumbs and make a gourmet meal. And then eventually we'll move on to chasing more than their crumbs. But today we're chasing the crumbs.
A subsidiary of theSinclair Broadcast Group operated in partnership with Entertainment Studios, Diamond Sports Group is themass media company that operatesBally Sports, a group ofregional sports networks formerly known as theFox Sports Networks. The company was founded in 2019 to acquire the networks fromThe Walt Disney Company, which was required to sell the chain as part of itsacquisition of21st Century Fox.[85][86][87]
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