Byron Allen is the founder and CEO of Allen Media Group and its Entertainment Studios Networks and Weather Group divisions.
His media empire net worth is in the billions, but in a recent interview with Lee Cowan for “CBS Sunday Morning,” he made it clear that his businesses are not up for sale.
“Do we or do we not have economic inclusion?” Allen asks. “And the answer is no. … We have to correct the greatest trade deficit in America, which is the trade deficit between white corporate America and Black America.”
He’s currently trying to buy the NFL team, the Denver Broncos.
Last year, Allen Media announced that it had acquired seven TV stations from Gray Television Inc. for $380 million. According to Variety, Allen gained TV stations in 19 markets and cable’s The Weather Channel, among other media properties, upon completion of the sale.
The purchase included the following stations: KVOA in Tucson, AZ; WKOW in Madison, WI; WSIL in Paducah KY; KWWL in Cedar Rapids IA; WXOW in La Crosse WI; WAOW in Wasau and Rhinelander WI; and WREX in Rockford IL.
Allen Media Group now owns and operates 36 television stations, 12 cable networks, six streaming platforms and several distribution companies.
“There are kids out there who look like me that, when they see that, they’re going to, it’s going to change their perspective of themselves,” he says.
“You know, when Berry Gordy sold Motown, and I understand why he sold Motown, I was in the back of the room,” Allen says. “And I started crying. I started crying because I felt like we, as African Americans, we have to own something. We don’t own anything.”
