In the world of media, Byron Allen is a remarkable individual. Along with being a prosperous businessman, television producer, and media executive, he also began his career as a stand-up comedian at the age of 14. The Weather Channel, Entertainment Studios, and other media properties are owned by him through his company, Allen Media Group, of which he is the founder, chairman, and CEO. This article will provide you with a brief overview of his life and achievements. We will also discuss some of the court cases he is engaged in with big businesses over alleged racial discrimination and contract violations. Continue reading to discover more about this media tycoon with a humorous bent.
Early Life and Education
On April 22, 1961, Byron Allen Folks was born in Detroit, Michigan. After his mother, Carolyn Folks, divorced in 1968, the two of them relocated to Los Angeles. He has liked show business since he was a child. His mother, who was a publicist at NBC Studios in Burbank, took him there. At the age of 14, he created his first stand-up routine and began performing in Los Angeles comedy clubs. In addition to attending USC, he attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
Comedy Career
When stand-up comedian Jimmie Walker saw his performance, he invited him to join his comedy writing team. He collaborated with David Letterman and Jay Leno. When he was 18 years old, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson featured him on television for the first time. The comedian was the show’s youngest performer ever. This show taught him more about the TV business. He was hired by NBC to work as a reporter for the program Real People. This was his first appearance on a network prime-time program. In the 1988 CBS TV movie Case Closed, he both wrote and acted. He hosted the late-night talk show The Byron Allen Show from 1989 to 1992. Additionally, he served as the opening act for The Pointer Sisters, Gladys Knight, Dolly Parton, and Lionel Richie.
Media Business
He started CF Entertainment in 1993. This later became Entertainment Studios, a production company that makes low-cost non-fiction TV shows. His first show was Entertainers with Byron Allen, a talk show with interviews with celebrities at hotels. He gave the show to stations for free and shared the money from ads with them. In the course of expanding his business, he added cable networks like Comedy.TV, Pets.TV, Cars.TV, Recipe.TV, JusticeCentral.TV, and MyDestination.TV. In 2018, he paid $300 million to Comcast, Blackstone Group, and Bain Capital to acquire The Weather Channel. He bought local TV stations from USA Television Holdings and Bayou City Broadcasting for $470 million in 2019. 2020 will see the launch of TheGrio.TV, which he acquired from MGM. He bought 11 regional sports networks from Disney for $10 billion in 2020.
Personal Life
He married Jennifer Lucas in 2007 and has three children with her: Chloe Ava Allen (born 2008), Olivia Rose Allen (born 2010), and Lucas Byron Allen (born 2012). In addition, he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 1739 Vine Street in Hollywood, California, on October 20, 2021. His star is at the famous corner of Hollywood and Vine. Furthermore, he paid for a big ad in the New York Times Sunday edition on June 13, 2020. It said, “Black America Speaks. America Should Listen. What We Need to Do to Never Come Back Here Again”. The ad was also an online column he wrote for Deadline.com on June 8.
Legal Battles
He sued big companies for racial discrimination and breaking contracts. These include Comcast, Charter Communications, Nielsen, and McDonald’s. He said Comcast broke the Civil Rights Act of 1866 by not showing its networks on its cable systems. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020, where Allen lost on a small issue but could file his complaint again. He settled the case with Comcast in June 2020, getting his channels shown and working with NBCUniversal on content. He said Charter Communications did the same thing and used the same law. The case was thrown out by a federal judge in 2016 but brought back by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018. The U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court in 2020, where Allen won a good ruling in February 2021. He could go ahead with his $10 billion claim.
In October 2021, he settled with Charter, getting his channels broadcast and collaborating with Spectrum Networks on content. He said Nielsen lied about ratings and broke their contract. He said Nielsen said his networks had fewer viewers than they did and favored its networks like Univision. In March 2021, he sued Nielsen, seeking $10 billion in damages. He said Nielsen’s actions hurt his ability to compete for ads and get fair pay. The case is pending in a federal court in Florida. According to him, McDonald’s made unfair advertising decisions. He said McDonald’s gave only a small part of its budget to Black-owned media and did not advertise on his networks. In May 2021, he sued McDonald’s, seeking $10 billion in damages. Both the California Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 were used by him.
Conclusion
To sum up, Byron Allen is a media tycoon with a comedic edge. He started as a stand-up comedian and has since built a media empire. Additionally, he has filed lawsuits against some of the biggest businesses in the sector for purported contract violations and racial discrimination. In his professional life, he has displayed tenacity, creativity, and ambition. We sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this piece and discovered something new about Byron Allen. Visit his website or follow him on social media to learn more about him and his media outlet. Thank you for reading.