Buzzfeed Sells to Byron Allen

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Byron Allen’s media company, Allen Family Digital, is buying a 52% controlling stake in BuzzFeed for $120 million.

Allen will become chief executive and chairman of BuzzFeed, replacing BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti, who will become president of artificial intelligence. Peretti also announced on an earnings conference call on Monday that BuzzFeed is planning a round of cost-cutting, adding that the company would set up its film and TV division as an independent entity. In other words, fewer media jobs for actual humans and more AI slop.

Peretti looks forward to taking on “a more hands-on role developing products and technology” and is “confident I can have a bigger impact and create more value in this new capacity,” he said.

BuzzFeed will now join other media platforms in Allen’s growing portfolio, including: The Weather Channel, TheGrio, Comedy.TV, Cars.TV, and JusticeCentral.TV, and over a dozen broadcast stations.

Allen previously tried to buy Paramount for $30 billion in 2024, but lost out to David Ellison’s Skydance, which now owns Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, Showtime, BET, and the streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Allen also tried to buy just BET, but was rebuffed there as well.

Allen and Ellison are not exactly rivals, though. Skydance famously canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in attempt to curry favor with the Trump administration and the show is being replaced by Comics Unleashed, which is produced by… you guessed, it Allen Family Digital.

“As of this moment, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube and the other big tech platforms,” said Allen.

And thus the great media consolidation continues.