By India McCarty
Businessman and comedian Byron Allen is about to become a major player in the entertainment industry with his acquisitions of BuzzFeed and THE LATE SHOW’s CBS time slot.
Allen, a former stand-up comedian, runs Allen Media Group, which owns 13 local TV stations, The Weather channel, several other media properties and now BuzzFeed. He paid a whopping $20 million in cash up front, with $100 million on a promissory note due in five years.
Byron Allen is buying BuzzFeed — investing $120 million in the digital media company — and will become CEO.
BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti will be succeeded by Byron Allen, while Peretti transitions to a newly created role as president of BuzzFeed AI.… pic.twitter.com/jvglmvpeXn
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— Variety (@Variety) May 11, 2026
“Jonah [Peretti, BuzzFeed CEO and co-founder] is a great visionary and has done a phenomenal job,” Allen said in a statement about the sale. “BuzzFeed and HuffPost have become two iconic global digital media brands with powerful audience reach and strong cultural importance. 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 premiere free video streaming service.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Allen outlined his vision to make BuzzFeed a big name in the media landscape, from plans to move BuzzFeed’s Tasty food brand and BuzzFeed Studios into a separate entity from BuzzFeed and HuffPost.
“What I can do is I can take BuzzFeed and HuffPost and put it into the free streaming business with this asset that I’ve invested heavily in,” he explained. “And it’s not to replace anything at BuzzFeed or HuffPost, it’s additive, it’s to build on the 20-year foundation that they’ve created.”
In an interview with Variety, he added, “We are chasing YouTube. They are the ultimate streamer. That same content sitting at YouTube can also be distributed with us.”
Additionally, Allen is also set to take over the time slot previously held by THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT following its cancellation.
Allen told Variety the cancellation was “an unfortunate event,” adding, “I really like Stephen Colbert. I think he is a magnificent human being. He’s a super talent, I believe he is an American treasure.”
Now, he will take over the 11:35 pm time slot with COMICS UNLEASHED WITH BYRON ALLEN, “a show with nothing political, racist, sexist or homophobic… just clean comedy.”
COMICS UNLEASHED WITH BYRON ALLEN will premiere Friday, May 22, 11:35 p.m. on CBS.
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