Through YOU ARE
December 4, 2025
Comedian and mogul Byron Allen is the founder/CEO of Entertainment Studios, owner of The Weather Channel and advocate for black media ownership.
Byron Allen Folks, commonly known as Byron Allen, is an American comedian, producer and entrepreneur who built a sprawling multi-billion dollar media empire from a foundation in syndicated television.
As founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, formerly Entertainment Studios, Allen oversees a global media company with assets in film, television production, broadcasting and digital media, including the acquisition of The Weather Channel and news platform DeGrio.
Allen was born in Detroit in 1961 and moved to Los Angeles as a child after his parents divorced. His early exposure to the industry came through his mother, Carolyn, a publicist for NBC Studios, allowing the young Byron to mingle with stars like Redd Foxx and Freddie Prinze. Allen started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 14.
He was quickly discovered by Jimmie Walker, who invited him to join a writing team that included future late-night stars Jay Leno and David Letterman. This trajectory HEIGHTSNeaten in Allen’s historic performance at age 18 The tonight show starring Johnny Carson, making him the youngest comedian to ever perform on the program.
After hosting NBC’s reality show Real people and touring as a stand-up opening act for musicians such as Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie, Allen pivoted from “show business” to “show business,” founding his production company, CF Entertainment, in 1993. Entertainers with Byron Allen, active a pioneer revenue-sharing model, distributing the program to stations for free and generating revenue through advertising sales.
Despite early problems, including evictions and the loss of telephone service, Allen persevered, and his show remains in syndication.
The company was renamed Entertainment Studios in 2003 and is now valued at more than $4.5 billion. Allen has built one of the largest cable network portfolios in the industry, with 10 24-hour HD networks including THE WEATHER CHANNEL, COMEDY.TV, CARS.TV and LOCAL NOW. The company also continues to produce and distribute Emmy Award-winning and nominated shows while selling advertising for 43 broadcast and cable television programs.
Allen has aggressively pursued corporate acquisitions, including film distributor Freestyle Releasing (now Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures), which released the 2017 hit shark thriller. 47 meters down. Other film successes include the Western Enemies and the mystery thriller Chappaquiddick.
In the digital space, Allen acquired DeGrio in 2016, transforming it into a video-focused news platform that delivers compelling content to African Americans and attracts more than 20 million visitors annually. The company’s 2018 acquisition The Weather Channel, the #1 weather news television network has further diversified its portfolio. The Weather Channel has since deployed cutting-edge Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) technology to improve climate and weather reporting.
Allen has consistently advocated for economic inclusion and black ownership of media companies, claiming, “Blacks should be both in front of the camera and owning the camera.”
In October, Allen appeared in Variety and shared his latest projects from his film studio with the publication.
This vision led to the formation of ALLEN MEDIA BROADCAST in 2019, which began building a station group through a series of acquisitions, including 11 stations from USA Television. He also personally worked with Sinclair Broadcast Group to acquire 21 Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) from Walt Disney/FOX Corporation for $10.6 billion.
Allen is married to TV producer Jennifer Lucas and the couple have three children. He was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2019.
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