Byron Allen, the CEO of Entertainment Studios and Allen Media Broadcasting who also owns the Weather Channel, has added a new group of local TV stations to his portfolio. He recently purchased 11 small-market network affiliates from USA Television for a reported $290 million.
"This is another milestone for our company," Allen said in a statement. "We have now agreed to purchase our second broadcast network affiliate station group within the past three months, and continue to aggressively look for other opportunities to grow our global media company through strategic acquisitions."
The largest of the new stations he acquired is Huntsville/Decatur/Florence, Alabama which is number 79 in the market. Other TV stations included are Fort Wayne, Ind. (Fox's WFFT), Eugene, Ore (ABC's KEZI), Chico-Redding in California (NBC's KNVN), Rochester, Minn. (CBS' KIMT) and Terre Haute, Ind. (CBS' WTHI).
"These stations are dedicated to their local communities and this transaction will enable them to become even stronger on both their broadcast and digital platforms," said Robert S. Prather, Jr., the CEO of USA Television, who will continue to manage the stations with partner Heartland Media.
Allen has been investing in small- and medium-sized TV station markets nationwide which is reportedly worth almost half a billion dollars or about $455 million just within this year alone.
The recent deals made his company Allen Media Broadcasting one of the largest Black-owned local TV station companies in the U.S. Allen currently produces and distributes film and TV shows -- 64 of which are currently on the air. He also owns nine 24-hour HDTV networks that have over 160 million subscribers.
Moreover, earlier this year, he partnered with Sinclair Broadcast Group to acquire 21 Regional Sports Networks from Walt Disney/Fox Corporation. He became the first African American to be a part of a $10 billion media acquisition.
To learn more about Byron Allen's company, Entertainment Studios, visit www.entertainmentstudios.com