Media mogul Byron Allen reiterates his intentions Disney paid $10 billion to acquire ABC and a slew of other cable properties, including National Geographic and FX, which would add considerable heft to his already sizable TV empire.
The outspoken Allen Media Group founder made a takeover bid for Disney assets earlier this month and revealed that he has been courting Disney CEO Bob Iger’s interest in the cable assets for years .Allen said the two first met when he was the host of a reality TV show real people In the early 1980s, Iger was a budding ABC executive, and the two even sent their children to the same school. “I’ve been working on his case for years,” Allen said in an interview Wednesday at the Vox Code conference in Dana Point, Calif. “It was like, ‘Come on, Bob — what are you doing, man? Let go of those stations.'” “
Allen began his courtship in earnest when Iger told CNBC in July that he was considering selling Disney’s cable channels. “I immediately texted him and said, ‘Hey, I’m your guy,'” Allen said.
Allen admitted, however, that he had to be patient because Iger wasn’t ready to sell. Allen said Iger is still determining the best way to separate ABC from Disney.
Allen Media Group’s acquisition spree over the past five years — spending $300 million for the Weather Channel and about $500 million for local TV stations — has been financed largely with debt.when asked CNBCWhen Julia Boorstin asked him how he would raise the $10 billion needed to meet Disney’s asking price, Allen didn’t waver.
“Capital is not an issue,” Allen said. “The real commodity is the certainty that the deal will be approved.”
He went on to explain that his company was Disney’s best choice because regulators wouldn’t block the deal as they had with other possible buyers. Allen said the government will not allow big tech companies, which are subject to bipartisan scrutiny, to make acquisitions and expand by expanding into traditional media. “Tech companies can’t even buy lemonade stands these days,” Allen said. “If they think they can buy something on this scale, they’re being unwise.”
A recent lawsuit filed by Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission may provide some evidence for Allen’s point. The Federal Trade Commission under the Biden administration has made a clear commitment to reducing the influence of Big Tech companies. Just this week, the Federal Trade Commission filed a historic and long-awaited lawsuit against Amazon, accusing it of being a monopoly. Alphabet is currently fighting its own antitrust lawsuit, alleging that its Google search engine unfairly stifles competition as it dominates the online search market. In July last year, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to block Meta’s attempt to acquire a virtual reality startup, accusing it of trying to enter new markets through acquisitions rather than innovation. Nonetheless, Meta received approval for the deal in February.
Private equity and hedge funds are also unattractive buyers for regulators because of their past mishandling of news organizations, Allen said. “DC is not — how should I put it — unimpressed by the way private equity and hedge funds have taken on newspapers and hastened their demise,” Allen said. Allen said he is so passionate about the topic that his Allen Media Group owns 36 local news stations. Private equity firms or hedge funds could bid, but Allen believes they need partners like him to run the network to get deals approved.Any other major media company would be prohibited from doing this deal because media ownership lawswhich prohibits a company from controlling more than 39% of the national market share.
In his eyes, Allen was like the last man standing. “Honestly, I was the prettiest girl at the ball,” he said.
Representatives for Allen Media Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I’m building the largest media company in the world.”
Allen, who started his own media company from his dining room table after a stint as a comedian and talk show host, is now increasingly open about his ambitions. When asked about his five-year plan, he told Boorstin: “I’m building the largest media company in the world.” Acquiring one of the Big Four networks and one of the country’s most trusted news sources would certainly be An important step in achieving the impact, if not necessarily the scale, he wants.
His biggest move to date was the acquisition of The Weather Channel in 2018. Even so, he purchased a lackluster linear television asset and discovered previously undervalued value. After the acquisition, he shifted its content strategy to focus on climate change, something the network had previously avoided for fear of alienating climate deniers including former President Donald Trump.
“We are going to tell the American people the truth,” Allen said. “We will educate them about what (climate change) means, how it affects us, and how we can protect and save their lives and loved ones.”
Allen’s white whale has long been buying BET, which he says should return to black ownership (Allen is black). He reportedly offered BET parent company Paramount $3.6 billion to buy the network, but it was rejected. “I wanted BET for more than just financial reasons,” Allen said. “I wanted to bet for social reasons.”
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