Charter’s Spectrum cable and streaming platforms will continue carriage of The Weather Channel, TheGrio, JusticeCentral.TV, Pets.TV, Recipe.TV and Cars.TV in addition to retrans renewal for Allen Media’s TV stations. Also, The Weather Channel TV app is now included for authenticated Spectrum Video customers.
Is Byron Allen’s Paramount Bid The Real Deal?
Is Byron Allen’s $30 billion bid (inclusive of debt) the real deal? Wall Street isn’t sure. Paramount stock ended Wednesday up 6.7% to $14.59, a sizable jump on a day when the overall market was down, but well below Allen’s bid for the company at more than $21 per share. It’s a sign the market is waiting to see Paramount’s next move.
Investors rallied behind Paramount Global’s stock after Byron Allen emerged as an unexpected bidder in the latest twist in the media company’s ongoing M&A drama. Shares of Paramount Global rose more than 13% in early trading Wednesday on news that the media mogul’s Allen Media Group made an unsolicited $30 billion acquisition offer to acquire the entertainment conglomerate. The stock was trading in heavy volume at over $15/share — though still well under its 52-week high of $25.93. By 11:15 a.m. enthusiasm had cooled, with the stock up 8.4% to $14.84.
The media mogul and owner of The Weather Channel has made a $30 billion offer for the debt and equity of Paramount Global. The official word from Allen Media Group on Tuesday night: “Mr. Byron Allen did submit a bid on behalf of Allen Media Group and its strategic partners to purchase all of Paramount Global’s outstanding shares. We believe this $30 billion offer, which includes debt and equity, is the best solution for all of the Paramount Global shareholders, and the bid should be taken seriously and pursued.”
Co-hosted by The Talk’s Sheryl Underwood and comedian Roy Wood Jr., the two-hour event honors Mariah Carey, Don Cheadle, Misty Copeland, Dr. Kizzmekia S Corbett-Helaire, Tamron Hall, Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Eddie Murphy, The Rev. Al Sharpton and Denzel Washington. Musical performers include Boyz II Men, Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones, Patti LaBelle and Smokey Robinson.
Local Now viewers can now stream USA Today and USA Today Sports channels, adding more national news, entertainment and sports programming.
Top executives from Sinclair, Graham Media Group and Allen Media Broadcasting will offer their outlook on their multimedia future, AI’s industry-transforming power, weathering economic headwinds and much more in TVNewsCheck’s centerpiece annual panel at TV2025: Monetizing the Future conference at the NAB Show New York on Oct. 25. Register here.
WTVA General Mnager Danny Walker died Sunday after a lengthy illness. He was 59. Walker was named GM of the Allen Media NBC and ABC affiliate in Columbus, Miss., in 2020 after more than four years as the station’s director of sales.
WAAY Named Alabama’s TV Station Of The Year
Gray now owns TV stations serving 102 television markets that collectively reach 25.4% of U.S. television households, including the No. 1-ranked station in 76 markets. The Byron Allen-owned Allen Media Broadcasting now owns and operates 25 television stations in 19 U.S. markets.
Digital leaders from Tegna, ABC Owned Television Stations, Graham Media and Allen Media told a TVNewsCheck webinar audience last week that OTT has opened a wealth of content opportunities to connect with new audiences, while the industry is also getting better at using first-party data to deepen audience ties and boost revenue.
TVNewsCheck‘s Michael Depp talks with Michael Senzon, SVP and GM of Local Now, about the Allen Media-owned OTT platform’s emergence from beta and how it’s angling for an audience with a value proposition of ZIP code-level localized content.
KEZI adapts on the fly with Bitcentral Core News
With Core News’ field-centric workflow already in place prior to COVID-19’s lockdowns, the Eugene, Ore., ABC affiliate hit no speedbumps as it sent its team home to produce 7.5 hours of news a day remotely. For anxious viewers seeking updates at all hours of the day and night, FUEL, also from Bitcentral, made offering “Non-Stop Live” news on the station’s website an equally easy lift. Pictured is the Oasis asset management system, part of Bitcentral’s Core News suite, in use at KEZI.
The two diginets reach more than 81 million U.S. Households via over-the-air, cable and online.
Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios/Allen Media, on Wednesday named Matt Anderson vice president of distribution. He will now be responsible for distribution efforts of the integrated Entertainment Studios Networks and Weather […]