You might have known Byron Allen from his nightly talk shows in the 90s, but few are aware that Allen has been quietly building a billion dollar media empire.
Currently, he has a portfolio that includes 8 television stations and he just purchased The Weather Channel basic cable TV network.
Allen Media purchased the Weather Group from The Blackstone Group, Bain Capital and Comcast/NBCUniversal.
Deadline reports that while exact numbers have not been released, sources claim the purchase price was around $300 million.
In a press statement, Allen writes:
“The Weather Channel is one of the most trusted and extremely important cable networks, with information vitally important to the safety and protection of our lives. We welcome The Weather Channel, which has been seen in American households for nearly four decades, to our cable television networks division. The acquisition of The Weather Channel is strategic, as we begin our process of investing billions of dollars over the next five years to acquire some of the best media assets around the world.”
Allen is the sole owner of Entertainment Studios which releases independent films and saw decent box office returns last year from the thriller “47 Meters Down” and the Western “Hostiles.”
