Report: Allen Media to layoff staffers

Allen Media Group is preparing to undergo a round of layoffs, The Hollywood Reporter reported May 2, 2024.

“Allen Media Group is making strategic changes to better position the company for growth that will result in expense and workforce reductions across all divisions of the company,” a spokesperson told THR.

It was not clear how many layoffs might be coming, though reports indicated cuts would be made across the organization.

The privately-held company’s biggest property is The Weather Channel, which it bought from NBCUniversal in 2018 for a reported $300 million.

It also owns TheGrio, a video and digital brand targeted at African-Americans, news, weather and lifestyle channel LocalNow and a group of networks that include Cars.tv, Pets.tv and JusticeCentral.tv. It also operates streamer HBCU Go and local TV stations.

Allen Media has a history of announcing grand plans that ultimately don’t pan out. For example, it offered $30 billion Paramount Global earlier in 2024, teaming with unnamed partners. Paramount is deep into talks with Skydance Media and Sony Pictures and Apollo Management Group have tendered an all-cash offer.

Allen has also stated interest in CNN and Disney’s television assets, though neither plan has come to fruition yet.

He also bought the defunct Black News Channel and announced plans to get it back on the air, but ended up shutting it down.

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AMG’s revenue likely comes primarily from carriage and syndication fees and advertising. The Weather Channel is a popular offering in cable and satellite packages and likely commands a higher than average rate per subscriber, but as cord cutting increases, its revenue from that source is likely shrinking.

The company also licenses its other topical networks on MVPDs and vMVPDs in addition to a syndication format. 

The Weather Channel and the company’s other networks all feature advertising, as does streamer HBCU Go.