Byron Allen has inked a deal to add BuzzFeed to his media empire.
In March, the digital media giant said it was facing a cash crunch and had “substantial doubt” it could stay afloat. In a press release on Monday, May 11, BuzzFeed announced Allen will invest $120 million in the company.
As part of the agreement, the media mogul acquires a 52 percent majority stake in the company and will take over as chairman and CEO. BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti will transition to a newly created position as president of BuzzFeed AI.
BuzzFeed also owns the left-leaning HuffPost news website and Tasty, a 10-year-old food vertical.
In a statement Monday, Peretti said Allen’s investment will “provide liquidity and operational focus.” But he warned there will be “significant changes, including cost reductions.”
Among those changes, Peretti said company brass will be “setting up BuzzFeed Studios (including vertical micro-dramas, animation, digital video, and premium studio including feature films) and Tasty as a new independent entity.”
Allen praised Peretti for his vision since starting the company.
“BuzzFeed and HuffPost have become two iconic global digital media brands with powerful audience reach and strong cultural importance,” said Allen.
He added, “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.”
The transaction is expected to close by the end of May 2026.
BuzzFeed launched in 2006, and is known for its “listicles,” quizzes, and pop culture articles. Allen Media Group owns The Weather Channel, TheGrio, Cars.TV, Comedy.TV, local television stations, and other brands.
TheGrio website, which focuses on news relevant to the African-American community, underwent sweeping layoffs in 2024.
Then in January 2025, Allen Media Group faced backlash after announcing it would be cutting or reassigning all meteorologists at its TV stations, and replacing local weather reports with a feed from The Weather Channel in Atlanta.
Allen is also a comedian. His show Comics Unleashed is set to replace The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS later this month, after the network canceled the late-night program.
Variety reported Allen has “leased” the 11:35 p.m. timeslot from CBS through the 2026-2027 broadcast season. As part of the deal, he will also continue to lease the 12:37 a.m. hour to run his Funny You Should Ask game show.
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