Byron All is adding Buzzfeed to his extensive business portfolio.
According to The Grio, Allen will be the CEO of BuzzFeed. This follows a reported $120 million investment he made through his Allen Family Digital, LLC.
Allen is set to succeed current Buzzfeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. When the deal officially closes, Peretti will become the President of Buzzfeed.
Allen confirmed the deal in an official statement.
“Jonah is a great visionary and has done a phenomenal job. BuzzFeed and HuffPost have become two iconic global digital media brands with powerful audience reach and strong cultural importance,” Allen said. “Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost. By expanding into free-streaming video, audio, and user-generated content. As of this moment, with the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premier free video streaming service.”
“Byron Allen has built one of the world’s largest media companies,” Peretti added. “He is one of the most accomplished media entrepreneurs in the industry, having spent 30-plus years transforming distribution infrastructure, identifying strategic assets, and scaling them into something much greater.”
“Byron’s vision, operational experience, and long-term commitment to premium content make him exceptionally well-positioned to lead BuzzFeed and HuffPost into our next phase of growth. And personally, I’m thrilled Byron is taking over ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’s time slot. And I’m highly confident that his relationships with talent will bring some incredible stars to the BuzzFeed platform.”
HOW BYRON ALLEN BECAME A MEDIA MOGUL
The founder of Allen Media Group, Allen owns “13 ABC, CBS, and NBC network affiliate broadcast television stations in 11 U.S. markets.” Also, he owns 10 HD “television networks serving nearly 275 million subscribers.” Some of his networks include The Weather Channel, Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.tv, ES.tv, MyDestination.TV, JusticeCentral.tv, theGrio, and HBCU GO.