Byron Allen’s media company is priming for a round of layoffs according to reports.
“Allen Media Group is making strategic changes to better position the company for growth that will result in expense and workforce reductions across all divisions of the company,” a rep for Allen Media told The Hollywood Reporter. Details on how many employees were to be let go weren’t mentioned according to the outlet.
Allen Media Group ( owns a litany of broadcast properties including The Weather Channel TheGrio, ScrippsTV stations in multiple cities, and streaming service HBCU Go among others.
Just last year, Allen made it clear the company aims to rigorously expand it portfolio.
“We plan to buy more [local TV stations], we really like that,” Allen said according to the Hollywood Reporter. Last year he hosted a media upfront at Avra restaurant in midtown Manhattan and delivered a keynote to the crowd of media buyers and television personalities that underscores his business approach: aggressive.
“We’re going to buy more cable networks,” Allen said at the event. “We’re very acquisitive. We’re going to buy whatever we can that makes sense. I will say we are truly aggressive when it comes to acquisitions. If it’s for sale — if it’s a lemonade stand — we want to buy it. It has to have a video monitor, it just can’t be lemonade, it has to have a video monitor so we can program that.”
Despite a $735 million valuation per an Bloomberg estimation, the company is likely aiming to prioritize its financial health over immediate growth.
“Allen Media Group’s brands continue to perform well and in many areas our revenue growth has greatly outpaced the market,” a rep said per The Hollywood Reporter. “We are aligning these changes to drive future business opportunities and support growth strategies in our rapidly evolving industry.”