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Byron Allen buys majority stake in BuzzFeed for $120M

journalismMay 11, 202624356

Byron Allen's Allen Media Group is buying a majority stake in BuzzFeed for $120 million, and Allen will become CEO and chairman. Jonah Peretti will relinquish the chief executive role and become BuzzFeed's president of artificial intelligence. BuzzFeed pursued the sale after running into a cash crunch as a publicly traded company. The deal hands Allen control of a major digital media brand and sets up a clear leadership and strategic shift at BuzzFeed.

Phil Lewis
@phillewis.bsky.social

New: Byron Allen is acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed, and he will soon become chairman and CEO:

A photo of Byron Allen
2478h ago
LurkyMcLurk27

Sure why not, who even cares

Skip hop jump 🍀💮🐳🐚🐸🐾12

Departing "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert is wishing veteran comic and Detroit native Byron Allen the best of luck with his soon-to-be former timeslot.

Mark <Impeach, Remove, Fling into Space> Rey ⛰️🌴11

Maybe he can prohibit A.I. from BuzzFeed and call it RealPeople.

Marcea the Traveler8

Who would have thought while watching him on the tv show Real People in the 1980s he’d be so savvy and so rich.

wickit411.bsky.social6

Well, let's see. He bought The Weather Channel and made it worse (didn't think that was possible), and bought Stephen Colbert's time slot on CBS. Why buy Buzzfeed? For the billionaire grifting?

Shivonne5

Does BuzzFeed do anything today except for online quizzes?

Guillotine Hunger Force4

watch chuds gonna call it dei when its freakin buzzfeed

Gregg McLennan3

Well there's a career jumpstart.

Jilrubia3

I don't think that's going to make his show more funny in the Late Show time slot.

The New York Times
@nytimes.com

Byron Allen, the comedian turned entrepreneur, is buying a controlling stake in BuzzFeed. Allen will become chief executive and chairman of BuzzFeed, replacing Jonah Peretti, the company’s founder, who will become president of artificial intelligence.

263h ago
Daith3

So, who gets to be president of real intelligence?

JN Hall3

wtf is president of AI

George Pearkes
@peark.es

So much going on here *BYRON ALLEN TO MAKE MAJORITY INVESTMENT IN BUZZFEED *BUZZFEED: JONAH PERETTI TRANSITION TO PRESIDENT OF BUZZFEED AI

338h ago
GOLIKEHELLMACHINE30

genuinely didn’t know buzzfeed still exists

Evan Deaubl2

What in the Allbirds is this?

Jesse Hawken
@jessehawken.bsky.social

Byron Allen controlling Buzzfeed and late nights on CBS… if this was the year 2014 it would be very impressive

158h ago
Nitish Pahwa
@nitishpahwa.com

hold on … Byron Allen is gonna be CEO of BuzzFeed??? www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/b...

98h ago
Aryeh6

Possible synergy with "Comics Unleashed" at 11:30??

Simulflow2

Real People Byron Allen?? THAT Byron Allen??

BlackskyNews 🗞️
@blackskynews.blacksky.app

Byron Allen is acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed — investing $120 million in the 20-year-old digital media company — and will become CEO. Allen plans to expand BuzzFeed and HuffPost into “free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content.” #BlackskyNews variety.com/2026/digital...

87h ago
TheDesk.net
@thedesk.net

Byron Allen is buying the Huffington Post and BuzzFeed through a $120 million purchase of stock, and will become BuzzFeed's CEO. Allen has a history of trying to buy things — BET Media, the ABC network, TEGNA.

48h ago
Mista NoItAll
@misstanoitall.blacksky.app

"He owns 13 ABC, CBS and NBC network affiliate broadcast television stations in 11 U.S. markets and 10 HD TV networks (including The Weather Channel)" Byron Allen to become CEO of BuzzFeed with $120M majority investment deal through Allen Family Digital thegrio.com/2026/05/11/b...

26h ago
ChocoMingo 🦩
@chocomingo.bsky.social

I don't really care what Byron Allen does with BuzzFeed at this point...except on one aspect Don't you dare try & mess with Chikn Nuggit again

44h ago
Mark Downie
@poppastring.com

Byron Allen has proposed: - $8.5B for Tegna - $10B for ABC - $3.5B for BET - $14B for Paramount To be sure none of them panned out, but that is the scale of his capital access. 52% majority stake in BuzzFeed for $120 million is actually his strategy play, distressed assets with brand‑recognition.

12h ago
Peter Kafka
@pkafka.bsky.social

On the one hand, Byron Allen is paying $120 million for half of BuzzFeed, and Wall Street thinks all of BuzzFeed is only worth $30 million. On the other hand, Allen is only paying $20 million today. Last hand: The 2010s were great until they weren't. www.businessinsider.com/buzzfeed-why...

26h ago
scott dagostino
@scottdagostino.ca

First Stephen Colbert’s time slot, now BuzzFeed? Byron Allen is becoming a dead-media baron, picking at the murdered platforms like a vulture 😬

28h ago
Kevin D. Grüssing 🪷🪷 (🔜 @ MomoCon)
@kevdgrussing.bsky.social

If Byron Allen really wants money to buy dead shit, he could sell off The Weather Channel already and free it from him. It's actually funny, he says he has money to buy real things but in reality only has the money to buy the dead and distressed.

13h ago
mathew olson
@mathewolson.com

lol i think i scrolled past 5 photos of byron allen until i realized there was NEW news today RIP buzzfeed. you were occasionally home to good people and good stuff. and also proxy TY for that one funny essay by a person who got insanely jealous of your overworked underpaid legion of 20-somethings

18h ago
This Person Stinks
@thispersonstinks.bsky.social

There’s so many layers to this: 1) Do you want be President of AI? 2) Byron Allen has CBS Late Night, and owns Buzzfeed and The Weather Channel, yet still can’t own BET. 3) What exactly is Buzzfeed doing these days? They are a perfect vehicle for social media and I don’t see any of it.

18h ago
2 sources
variety.comByron Allen Is Buying BuzzFeed, Will Become CEOthemarquee.blogByron Allen's $120M bet on BuzzFeed! 😮 Can he make it a streaming king? Read the scoop! #ByronAllen

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Byron Allen buys majority stake in BuzzFeed for $120Mjournalism