‘i Didn’t Want To Work For Anybody’: Inside Byron Allen’s Journey From Comic To Media Mogul

When CBS announced that it planned to outsource nan hallowed “Late Show” slot occupied by Stephen Colbert and David Letterman earlier him to “Comics Unleashed,” nan syndicated, low-budget talk show pinch stand-ups riffing connected their routines, galore saw authorities astatine play.

But nan show’s big and producer, comic-turned-mogul Byron Allen, saw nan math. Once a taste touchstone, late-night tv has seen its prominence erode greatly complete nan years pinch viewers and advertizing dollars shifting distant from broadcast TV to streaming.

“I said, ‘Look guys, you’re spending a mini luck connected precocious night,’” recalled Allen, who estimated that nan programming was costing nan web much than $200 million. He offered it a solution.

His company, nan Los Angeles-based Allen Media Group, would salary $15 cardinal for nan airtime to tally “Comics Unleashed,” which antecedently aired aft “The Late Show,” while keeping astir of nan advertizing clip connected nan programme to sell. It was nan aforesaid time-buy exemplary that propelled his fledgling media empire and made him able galore times over.

“Comics Unleashed” drew 1.1 cardinal viewers successful its debut successful nan caller clip slot past month, down substantially from nan 2.7 cardinal Colbert’s show averaged successful its last season. Critics chimed in, pinch 1 outlet moreover calling it a “ratings disaster.”

But Allen, typically, was not fazed, saying his show bested nan title successful cardinal markets and was much comparable pinch nan aforesaid clip play past May earlier Colbert’s post-cancellation triumph lap.

“CBS has won big-time because they person zero accumulation costs and now they are redeeming $55 cardinal a year,” he said successful an interview.

A relentlessly driven, shrewd dealmaker and entrepreneur, Allen is utilized to defying skeptics and seeing opportunity successful assets overlooked by others. He was 1 of nan first entertainers to admit that location was much money to beryllium made successful owning your content, alternatively than conscionable performing it.

Over nan past 3 decades, he has built a multibillion-dollar business, Allen Media Group, which now has 2,000 labor crossed various media properties.

In summation to creating a trove of accessible, family-friendly programs, he’s taken a number of big, bold swings, buying up distressed assets that now span broadcast, cable, streaming and movie distribution.

At times, he appears for illustration a minnow trying to swallow a whale. Although galore deals person landed, others, specified arsenic his bids for ABC, BET, Paramount Global and Tegna, person not.

“He’s had misses, but that doesn’t extremity him from going to bat,” said Lloyd Greif, president and main executive of Greif & Co., a Los Angeles-based finance bank.

After a awesome restructuring that began 2 years agone during which nan institution laid disconnected staffers and sold disconnected properties, Allen is backmost pinch a slew of eager acquisitions. In summation to owning CBS’ late-night block, he besides took complete nan 12:35 a.m. slot pinch his comic crippled show, “Funny You Should Ask.” He declined to uncover really overmuch he paid for that airtime.

Allen precocious snapped up controlling liking successful nan integer media institution BuzzFeed (including HuffPost) for $120 cardinal and bought a 10.7% liking successful cablegram transmission Starz for $25 million.

Although Allen’s programming has been dismissed arsenic low-budget, apolitical comedy, and his finances person been questioned by some, he remains undaunted by doubters.

“I for illustration to opportunity I’m a 65-year-old overnight success.” And he remains focused connected his mission, moreover proclaiming he is “building nan world’s biggest media company.”

An entrepreneurial streak

Allen was calved successful Detroit, wherever his grandparents owned a roller rink wherever he worked arsenic a level guard. Being surrounded by a family of mill workers and nan bequest of 20th period American manufacture group nan shape for his entrepreneurship. “I didn’t play sports; I played office,” he said.

At property 7, aft his parents’ divorce, Allen moved to Los Angeles pinch his mother, Carolyn Folks. It was nan summertime of 1968 and they planned a two-week vacation. But Detroit was successful flames pursuing nan assassination of nan Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and they stayed.

Folks put herself done UCLA and yet worked her measurement up astatine NBC from an intern to a publicist, a move Allen credits pinch changing nan trajectory of their lives. His mother couldn’t spend kid care, truthful Allen often accompanied her astatine nan studio, wherever he soaked up tapings of “Sanford and Son” and “The Tonight Show.” After Johnny Carson vanished filming and nan workplace was empty, Allen would beryllium astatine his desk, mimicking nan legendary late-night host.

At 14, he convinced his mother to fto him do stand-up astatine nan Comedy Store connected Sunset Boulevard.

“There were virtually 4 group and 200 chairs. And I said, ‘I person to fig retired really to make these chairs laugh.’”

A writer for Jimmie “J.J.” Walker, who was starring connected nan groundbreaking Norman Lear deed drama “Good Times,” caught his act. He hired Allen to constitute jokes for Walker on pinch a brace of yet-to-be discovered comics: Jay Leno and David Letterman. Allen earned $25 a joke.

Howie Mandel met Byron Allen erstwhile they were some starting retired astatine The Comedy Store.

(Allen Media Group)

“Most group successful my business hold for different group to springiness you an opportunity,” said Howie Mandel, nan character and comic who met Allen erstwhile they were starting retired astatine nan Comedy Store during this period. “Byron and his mom perpetually made their ain opportunities.”

In 1979, erstwhile Allen was 18, he became nan youngest comic to look connected “The Tonight Show.” Like a changeable retired of a cannon, nan capacity catapulted his career.

While various offers poured in, Allen chose nan NBC prime-time bid “Real People” arsenic a big and correspondent. It was an embryonic type of reality TV. Allen traveled astir nan state showcasing quirky, heartwarming stories. The deed show brought Allen to each pouch of America. It besides made him a star, delivering him to nan country’s surviving rooms each week.

He continued to tour, doing stand-up and serving arsenic nan opening enactment for specified musicians arsenic Lionel Richie and Dolly Parton, and starred successful TV movies.

Allen became a leader to young, Black entertainers who were conscionable starting out. Among them was Eddie Murphy, who has called Allen “one of my first inspirations.”

“He conscionable loves comedians,” said Whitney Cummings, co-creator and executive shaper of nan deed CBS sitcom “2 Broke Girls.” She recalled important profession and financial proposal Allen gave her aft she first appeared arsenic a young comic connected “Comics Unleashed.” “It gave maine for illustration a existent north. It changed my life.”

Whitney Cummings says Allen helped her early successful her career.

(Troy Conrad)

As Allen’s occurrence swelled, he said, he realized nan manufacture was what he calls “business show, not show business.”

“You request to cognize nan business broadside and study nan business broadside and past you tin do arsenic galore shows arsenic you want. And I knew that I didn’t want to activity for anybody,” he said.

While connected “Real People,” he sat successful connected income meetings and went to nan National Assn. of Television Programming Executives, wherever he introduced himself to Al Masini, nan syndication trailblazer who produced “Entertainment Tonight” and “Star Search.”

“I understand you’re nan best. I’m present to study from you,” Allen said.

In 1989 he began hosting nan syndicated “The Byron Allen Show.” Two years later, he created BYCA Television Distribution to return complete his talk show’s distribution and syndicate different shows.

But Allen and his caller institution were soon facing ineligible and financial issues. A group of erstwhile labor and an investor sued, claiming they had not been paid. The conflict forced nan institution into Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Allen pressed on. He had absorbed different cardinal lesson.

Learning from Richard Pryor

When he was still hanging retired astatine nan Comedy Store, he watched Richard Pryor trying retired caller material.

Iconic comedian Richard Pryor.

(Bettmann / Bettmann Archive)

“He would explosive nighttime aft nighttime for almost 3 months,” Allen said. “I’ll ne'er forget, he told me, ‘Byron, you’re only arsenic bully arsenic you situation to beryllium bad.’ I learned, OK, return risks. It’s astir increasing and taking chances.”

In 1993, Allen launched CF Entertainment connected his eating room array successful Los Angeles. The accumulation company, later Entertainment Studios, became nan instauration of his media empire. He focused connected producing low-cost, syndicated programming, including question and reply bid and tribunal shows. Allen produced and often served arsenic host.

His first show, “Entertainers With Byron Allen,” packaged nan five-minute personage interviews during edifice property junkets, a conveyor loop of actors promoting their latest projects group up by nan studios into an hourlong talk show.

Allen bartered nan show for free to TV stations successful speech for a divided of nan revenues from trading commercials to advertisers. Success was not immediate. He said he received countless rejections astatine first.

“My location went successful and retired of foreclosure astir apt 14 times,” he said. At 1 point, he said, his telephone work was turned off, forcing him usage a salary telephone for calls.

But nan format established nan template for what became Allen’s highly successful business. Forbes has estimated his nett worthy successful nan billions. Allen declined to talk his individual aliases business finances.

The mogul now owns aggregate homes, including a $91.3-million mansion successful Aspen, Colo., that was precocious featured successful nan Wall Street Journal.

“A batch of group didn’t return him earnestly and saw him arsenic a comedian,” said Joan Robbins, Allen’s first employee, who has stayed connected for 32 years arsenic president of talent relations. “I don’t deliberation anybody realized nan bonzer business consciousness he had.”

As Allen’s media ambitions person expanded beyond drama and syndicated talk shows, truthful has his company. It produces, distributes and sells advertizing for 74 tv programs (“Mathis Court With Judge Mathis” and “Career Day” among them) arsenic good arsenic owns 13 broadcast stations affiliated pinch nan awesome networks successful 11 markets and respective dot-TV cablegram and integer networks including Cars.TV, Automotive.TV and Comedy.TV.

In 2016, he acquired nan Black intermezo level TheGrio and later purchased nan assets of nan Black News Channel retired of bankruptcy for a reported $11 million, merging its TV assets and carriage deals into TheGrio’s network.

A twelvemonth earlier, Allen made waves by filing nan first of respective multibillion-dollar racial favoritism lawsuits to tackle what he called nan “trade shortage betwixt Black America and achromatic firm America.” His lawsuit against Comcast for not carrying Allen-owned stations and networks reached nan Supreme Court earlier being settled.

“I consciousness bully astir starting that speech ... because we were going successful circles and we were decidedly suffering from economical genocide,” he said.

In 2018, Allen’s institution bought the Weather Channel and nan streaming work Local Now for $300 million. His patient besides announced it had raised $500 cardinal successful in installments facilities organized by Deutsche Bank Securities, Jefferies Financial Group, Brightwood Capital Advisors and Comerica Bank to finance accumulation and different acquisitions.

What unites these disparate assets? “We’re directed astatine wherever nan viewers are,” he said. “That’s wherever we’ll be.”

But successful his tireless push to grow his sprawling company, Allen has made respective grounded bids for high-profile assets.

In 2023, he offered Disney a reported $10 cardinal for ABC and immoderate of its cablegram networks, and nan pursuing twelvemonth bid $30 cardinal for Paramount Global. He besides made plays for Tegna and BET.

None of his offers succeeded, prompting skepticism astir his expertise to finance specified deals. Allen Media Group is wholly owned by nan entrepreneur.

Allen dismissed specified concerns. “I raised nan money to bargain nan Weather Channel successful 1 day,” he said. “There’s trillions of dollars looking for really bully executives and really bully deals. I person nary problem raising capital.”

The Times viewed aggregate letters from backstage equity firms and banks. Several indicated that Allen had financial backing connected nan woody to bargain BET, and different showed he had $4 cardinal successful costs to backmost nan acquisition of Paramount assets.

Over nan years, erstwhile labor person criticized immoderate of Allen’s employment practices. In 2012 he faced a class-action suit from performers and staffers connected “Comics Unleashed” who alleged they were not paid residuals aliases reimbursed for recreation and different expenses. The suit was settled successful 2023.

Allen called nan suits “frivolous,” saying, “I couldn’t beryllium successful business if I really conducted myself that way.”

Last year, Allen came nether occurrence aft announcing sweeping cuts astatine astir 2 twelve section affiliates that included laying disconnected meteorologists, portion of a reorganization to centralize forecasts astatine nan Weather Channel successful Atlanta. The move sparked spectator outrage and nan plans were reversed.

The contention came arsenic Allen’s institution was retrenching. He sold disconnected astir a 3rd of nan TV position portfolio for $171 million.

Allen said this was a lawsuit of “rightsizing,” paying down indebtedness and investing much successful digital. “I sold 10 of my ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates to Gray [Media] astatine a awesome value for america and a awesome value for them.”

Allen confirmed he is negotiating pinch lenders complete important indebtedness payments coming owed successful nan adjacent year, but said he is “highly assured they will get refinanced aliases extended.”

Shortly aft he bought a liking successful Starz, Allen announced his intentions to ain nan cablegram channel. Starz responded by adopting a poison pill.

“Good luck,” he said. “I still scheme to return complete Starz, and I will yet get power of Starz.”