BuzzFeed will now be majority-owned by Byron Allen, the billionaire comedian who owns the parent company of The Weather Channel, with plans to rival YouTube as a streaming service.
In a release Monday, BuzzFeed announced that Allen Family Digital, an affiliate of Mr. Allen’s family office, is buying 40 million shares for $120 million, giving Allen Family Digital control of 52% of BuzzFeed.
As part of the deal, Mr. Allen will also become chairman and CEO of BuzzFeed, replacing the company’s founder and CEO Jonah Peretti.
Mr. Allen is also the founder, chairman and CEO of the Allen Media Group, which owns The Weather Channel, 13 network affiliate local TV stations and other TV channels.
Mr. Peretti will be changing positions to become president of BuzzFeed AI. Other operational changes will include spinning off BuzzFeed Studios and food content brand Tasty as an independent entity, BuzzFeed said.
Mr. Allen plans to have BuzzFeed and HuffPost, which BuzzFeed acquired in 2021, become competitors to Google’s YouTube.
“Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content. As of this moment, with the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service,” Mr. Allen said in the release.
In addition to Mr. Allen’s investment into BuzzFeed, Allen Media Group shows are also filling two hours on CBS late-night television after “Late Night With Stephen Colbert” ends its run on May 21.
“Comics Unleashed,” which Mr. Allen hosts, will fill part of the bloc, while the rest will be filled by game show “Funny You Should Ask,” according to Variety.
