How new BuzzFeed CEO Byron Allen turned the ‘worst thing that ever happened’ into success

On May 11, media entrepreneur Byron Allen announced a deal to buy a majority stake in BuzzFeed—the millennial-favorite news site that closed its Pulitzer Prize-winning news division in 2023.

Allen is swooping in as savior of the 20-year-old publication, which otherwise would have had to file for bankruptcy as a result of its shrinking revenue. Allen will replace founder Jonah Peretti as CEO of BuzzFeed; Peretti will become president of BuzzFeed AI.

“Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding into free-streaming video, audio, and user-generated content,” Allen said in a statement announcing the deal. “As of this moment, with the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service.”

Allen’s BuzzFeed deal amounted to $120 million. Most recently, Allen Media Group struck a deal with CBS to fill Stephen Colbert’s late-night slot. Allen tried to strike larger deals to purchase media conglomerates like Paramount Global in the past, but those didn’t pan out.

In December, Allen spoke with radio host Charlamagne tha God during a panel for financial literacy nonprofit Operation HOPE, where he discussed his rise to becoming a media mogul.

Allen got his start in the entertainment industry as a stand-up comic and comedy writer. After landing a gig at the Comedy Store, where he recalled performing for just four people, he got a call from actor and comedian Jimmie Walker, who invited him to write with other comedians like Jay Leno and David Letterman. He sold them a joke for $25. Decades later, Allen has kept that check framed.

“This is when I knew I could make it in this business,” Allen said.

During his stint for one TV show, Allen said he was getting paid $2,500 an episode, compared to his colleagues who were making $10,000 to $12,500 an episode. Allen said he was fired after asking for a pay bump. 

“I thought it was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “It was the very best thing that could have ever happened to me in [my] business life.”

That moment showed him that he never wanted to work for anyone else again—and he decided to start selling his show to different TV stations. Allen said he made thousands of calls to networks along the way and faced thousands of rejections before he finally broke through.

“That’s how I got my first show on the air,” he said. “After working through about 50,000 noes.”

After building his TV success, Allen was interested in purchasing the Weather Channel.

“They didn’t want to let me into the process,” he said. After a back-and-forth with representatives of Morgan Stanley, who questioned whether Allen could secure funding for the deal, he purchased the Weather Channel in 2018 for $300 million. He said it was the reputation he had earned over the years that sealed the deal.

“Money is not the commodity,” he said. “I’m the commodity.” 

Allen said he believes success isn’t only about access to capital—it’s about hustle, cultivating relationships, and building prestige, noting, “Your reputation is your greatest currency.”

Allen knows the game of content and distribution well. Through his career, he said he has learned that “business is a contact sport.” 

“You’re nothing more than economic athletes,” he said. “They will see your passion. They will see your stats. And they will always want you on their team because you make them money. You have unlimited amounts of capital available to you if your hustle is at the highest level.”

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