Allen Media Group facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Allen Media Group

Formerly	CF Entertainment (1993–2003) Entertainment Studios (2003–2022)
Type	Private
Industry	Television production Broadcasting Film distribution
Predecessor	BYCA Productions
Founded	1993; 32 years ago (1993)
Founder	Byron Allen
Headquarters	Century City, Los Angeles, California , United States
Key people	Byron Allen (chairman, CEO)
Total assets	$1 billion (2017)
Owner	Byron Allen
Number of employees	2,200 (2024)
Divisions	Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures Entertainment Studios Networks
Subsidiaries	Allen Media Broadcasting Freestyle Releasing TheGrio The Weather Channel

Allen Media Group, also known by its old name Entertainment Studios, Inc., is an American company that works in media and entertainment. It is based in Los Angeles, California. Byron Allen founded the company in 1993 and still owns it today.

The company first started by making and sharing TV shows for stations across the United States. Later, through its Entertainment Studios Networks division, it began running its own digital cable and satellite channels. These channels show a mix of new programs and older content from the company.

In the late 2010s, Allen Media Group grew a lot. It started distributing movies and bought The Weather Channel. It also teamed up with Sinclair Broadcast Group to help run the Bally Sports TV channels, which show regional sports. The company also bought several TV stations from another media group.

How Allen Media Group Started

Byron Allen had experience in television, having been a co-host on the NBC show Real People. In 1989, he started his own weekly talk show called The Byron Allen Show. His company, BYCA Productions, made the show.

By 1993, his talk show had ended. Allen then started a new company called CF Entertainment. He learned from his past experiences and focused on making low-cost, non-fiction TV shows. These included interview series and court shows, which were often based on real court cases but acted out. Allen even hosted some of these shows himself. In December 2003, CF Entertainment changed its name to Entertainment Studios.

In 2011, Entertainment Studios decided to get into movies and theater. They bought the rights to create a movie and a play about the life of Sammy Davis Jr..

Expanding into Scripted Shows

In 2012, the company started making scripted TV shows. They launched two sitcoms, Mr. Box Office and The First Family. These shows were produced very quickly, with 104 episodes planned over two years. Major TV station groups picked up these shows to air them as a two-hour block on weekends.

On December 10, 2012, the company launched its eighth cable channel, Justice Central.TV. This was their first channel that showed commercials.

Growing with New Acquisitions

In October 2015, Entertainment Studios bought a company called Freestyle Releasing. This helped them expand into distributing movies through their new Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures division. Their first movie release, 47 Meters Down, earned a lot of money at the box office.

In June 2016, the company acquired TheGrio, a news website that focuses on stories important to African Americans.

On March 22, 2018, Entertainment Studios announced it would buy The Weather Channel's TV parts. The deal was reportedly worth around $300 million. This purchase did not include The Weather Company's other businesses, which had been sold to IBM earlier.

In May 2019, Entertainment Studios became a partner in Sinclair Broadcast Group's purchase of Fox Sports Networks. These channels are now known as Bally Sports.

Buying More TV Stations

Also in May 2019, Entertainment Studios announced it would start owning TV stations. They bought four small-market TV stations for $165 million, creating a new part of the company called Allen Media Broadcasting. In February 2020, they bought 11 more TV stations.

In June 2020, Comcast agreed to carry some of Entertainment Studios' channels, including Comedy.TV, JusticeCentral.TV, Recipe.TV, and The Weather Channel. This was part of a settlement for a lawsuit. Allen Media Group also acquired This TV and Light TV in October 2020.

In April 2021, Allen Media Group bought seven more TV stations, bringing their total to 23 stations across 19 markets. In July 2022, Allen Media Group acquired Black News Channel and merged its content into TheGrio.TV.

In 2023 and 2024, Byron Allen made offers to buy parts of other large media companies like Disney and Paramount.

In April 2024, Allen Media Group reduced its staff by about 12% to help the company grow in the future. In August 2024, it was reported that the company had been late in paying some network owners.

In January 2025, the company planned to centralize weather coverage at The Weather Channel, which would mean fewer local meteorologists. However, after people shared their concerns, Allen Media Group decided to keep some local meteorologists. In June 2025, Allen Media Group announced it was looking into selling its 28 TV stations.

McDonald's Advertising Lawsuits

In 2021, Allen Media Group sued the fast-food chain McDonald's. They claimed that McDonald's did not fairly give advertising business to media companies owned by African Americans. The lawsuit stated that while Black consumers make up a large part of fast-food customers, McDonald's spent very little of its advertising budget on Black-owned media.

McDonald's had publicly promised to increase its spending on Black-owned media. In 2023, Allen Media Group sued McDonald's again, saying the company had not kept its promise. Both lawsuits were settled before going to trial. McDonald's stated it would buy ads that fit its strategy, and Allen Media Group acknowledged McDonald's commitment to investing in Black-owned media.

TV Shows from Entertainment Studios

Entertainment Studios is well-known for its syndicated TV shows. These shows are given to TV stations without a direct fee. Instead, the company sells advertising time during the shows and shares the money with the stations. This model is good for stations that might not be able to afford other programs.

The company uses smart ways to keep costs low. For example, their court shows use actors to dramatize cases instead of real people and claims. This saves money on travel and other expenses. Their first show, Entertainers with Byron Allen, filmed interviews at press events, using equipment provided by movie studios.

These methods have helped many Entertainment Studios shows earn good advertising money, even if they air in less popular time slots.

Court Shows

• America's Court with Judge Ross
• Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams
• Justice for All with Judge Cristina Pérez
• Justice for the People with Judge Milian
• Justice with Judge Mablean
• Mathis Court with Judge Mathis
• Supreme Justice with Judge Karen
• The Verdict with Judge Hatchett
• We the People with Judge Lauren Lake

Sitcoms

• The First Family (2012–2015)
• Mr. Box Office (2012–2015)

Game Shows

• Funny You Should Ask
• Who Wants to Date a Comedian?

Talk and Magazine Shows

• Beautiful Homes & Great Estates
• Career Day
• Comics Unleashed
• Designers, Fashions & Runways
• Entertainers with Byron Allen
• Global Business People
• The Gossip Queens
• Latin Lifestyles
• Kickin' It with Byron Allen
• Urban Style
• The Writer's Hot List
• The Young Icons

Other Shows

• The American Athlete
• The World's Funniest Weather

Allen Media Group's Businesses

Entertainment Studios Networks

This part of the company runs several cable and digital TV channels.

Cable and Digital Channels

• Automotive.TV
• Cars.TV
• Comedy.TV
• ES.TV
• MyDestination.TV
• Pets.TV
• Recipe.TV

Television Channels

• Justice Central.TV, started on December 10, 2012.
• Weather Group
  • The Weather Channel
  • Weatherscan
  • Local Now

Allen Media Broadcasting

Allen Media Broadcasting, LLC is the part of Allen Media Group that owns and operates TV stations. On May 6, 2019, Entertainment Studios announced it would buy TV stations from Bayou City Broadcasting. These stations included WEVV-TV and WEEV-LD in Evansville, Indiana, and KADN-TV and KLAF-LD in Lafayette, Louisiana. These stations became part of the new Allen Media Broadcasting unit. The sale was completed on July 31, 2019.

On October 1, 2019, Allen Media agreed to buy 11 more stations from USA Television. This sale was approved in November 2019 and completed in February 2020.

In August 2020, the company announced it would buy the ABC affiliate KITV in Hawaii. On April 29, 2021, Allen Media announced it would buy 10 stations from Gray Television. In a separate deal with Gray, Allen acquired WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan.

In December 2021, Allen Media announced it would buy WCOV-TV, WIYC, and WALE-LD in Montgomery, Alabama.

Television Stations Owned

Here are some of the TV stations owned by Allen Media Broadcasting:

Television Networks

Allen Media Group also acquired these over-the-air networks in October 2020:

• TheGrio, a network focused on African-American culture.
• This TV, a network that mainly shows movies from the MGM library.

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures

This division handles movie distribution.

In 2016, Entertainment Studios started to get heavily involved in distributing movies. At the Sundance Film Festival, the company tried to buy the movie The Birth of a Nation for $20 million, but another company won. In July 2016, Entertainment Studios made a deal to distribute its movies on home video and on-demand. The studio bought its first movie, 47 Meters Down, later that month.

At the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, Entertainment Studios also bought Chappaquiddick, Replicas, and Hostiles. The company aimed to distribute at least 18 films in 2018. Byron Allen explained that they focus on movies that big studios might not want, often those that earn $40 million to $60 million. He said they are happy with those numbers and plan to grow from there.

Diamond Sports Group

Diamond Sports Group is a company that runs Bally Sports, a group of regional sports networks. It is a part of the Sinclair Broadcast Group and works with Entertainment Studios. This company was created in 2019 to buy these sports networks from The Walt Disney Company. Disney had to sell them as part of its purchase of 21st Century Fox.