Byron Allen Buys Weather Channel For $300M

Entertainment Studios Inc. (ES) today acquired the Weather Group, parent company of The Weather Channel television network and Local Now streaming service. ES CEO Byron Allen purchased the Weather Group through his company, Allen Media LLC, from The Blackstone Group, Bain Capital and Comcast/NBCUniversal. Details of the deal were not released, but a number of news outlets, including Bloomberg, report the price was $300 million. Blackstone, Bain and NBCU bought the network in 2008 for $3.5 billion.

This expansion into live and local cable news is the latest step ES has taken in expanding the global reach of its programming and content. ES now includes: broadcast television syndication, production and distribution of more than 41 programs, eight 24/7 cable television networks, theatrical motion picture production, acquisition and distribution, digital movie acquisition and distribution, and global news.

The Weather Channel is one of the largest cable television networks not owned by a major conglomerate and ranks No. 1 in weather news. Harris Poll has ranked The Weather Channel as the “TV News Brand of the Year” for eight years in a row, and the network is the nation’s most trusted resource for daily weather information.

“The Weather Channel is one of the most trusted and extremely important cable networks, with information vitally important to the safety and protection of our lives,” said  Allen. “We welcome The Weather Channel, which has been seen in American households for nearly four decades, to our cable television networks division.  The acquisition of The Weather Channel is strategic, as we begin our process of investing billions of dollars over the next five years to acquire some of the best media assets around the world.”

“We are excited to join Entertainment Studios, and we are especially proud to be part of one of the largest emerging global media companies,” said Dave Shull, CEO of The Weather Channel. “Byron Allen’s purchase of our innovative and forward-thinking organization will increase the value we bring to our viewers, distributors, and advertisers.”