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Byron Allen net worth: How rich is the ‘Comics Unleashed’ host? Allen Media Group empire in focus
Byron Allen is worth about $1B. He built a vast media empire with Alen Media Group from his stand-up comedy career, through decades of smart business moves.
When Stephen Colbert’s long-running late-night show ends in May, Byron Allen will take over the CBS time slot. He is a comedian-turned-businessman with an estimated net worth of $1 billion and has quietly built a major media empire in Hollywood.
Byron Allen's Net Worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Byron Allen is worth an estimated $1 billion which makes him one of the wealthiest and most successful yet surprisingly under-the-radar figures in Hollywood. He built his fortune not through overnight fame but through decades of smart business moves, starting from his early days as a stand-up comedian and growing into a full-scale media empire that spans television networks, production companies and major acquisitions.
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How Byron Allen built his media empire
Byron Allen built his career by moving from comedy into the business side of television and creating a powerful media company.
He started in TV with shows like Real People where he also learned how the industry works behind the scenes including production, directing and advertising.
In 1993, he co-founded Entertainment Studios which later became a major company producing and distributing TV shows and selling ads. Over time, it grew into one of the biggest independent producers of syndicated TV content.
In 2009, he launched six HD TV networks at once, including Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV and MyDestination.TV.
Today, through Entertainment Studios and Allen Media Group, he owns 12 cable networks and produces around 70 TV shows across the United States. His businesses generate about $100 million in revenue every year.
In 2018, he expanded further by buying The Weather Channel television network for $300 million.
Allen’s business model is different from others. Instead of charging networks for his shows, he gives them for free and earns money by selling 50% of the advertising time. With his shows reaching around 35 million viewers, this strategy has been very successful.
He has also tried to buy major media companies in recent years, including making multi-billion dollar offers for ABC, Black Entertainment Television and Paramount, though none of these deals have been completed.
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Byron Allen takes over CBS late night
CBS announced on Monday that it is handing its 11:35pm ET slot to Allen under a time buy agreement, replacing "The Late Show" with Allen's comedy talk show "Comics Unleashed." Starting May 22, two back-to-back half-hour episodes of the show will air nightly. Allen will also continue leasing the 12:37am hour with his comedy game show "Funny You Should Ask," giving him a full two-hour block on the network each night.
According to Reuters, Allen said, “I truly appreciate CBS' confidence in me by picking up our two-hour comedy block of Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask, because the world can never have enough laughter.”
