Byron Allen Buys Black News Channel Out Of Bankruptcy For $11M

As AfroTech just told you, Allen, CEO and sole shareholder of Entertainment Studios Network placed a bid worth $11 million. The move follows just months after the news outlet filed for bankruptcy. Allen, struck by the news, believes the cable network was short-changed.

“If you really want something to succeed and you don’t want to find it in bankruptcy, and they’re pink slipping 300 Black journalists. Yeah, there should have been some sub fees,” Allen told Cablefax. “This is the reason I sued the cable industry before for $40 billion. Are you serious? You’re going to pay anywhere from $1-2 for other cable networks, but zero for the Black News Channel?”

Stepping in, Allen submitted the bid by the deadline of July 11 at 5 p.m. EST under the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida. There were no other qualified bids.

After a hearing on Tuesday, July 19 at 10 a.m. EST held before Chief Judge Karen Specie, it was approved for AMG’s networks division to obtain the Black News Channels’ “assets free and clear of all liens, claims, encumbrances, and interests.”

“We are excited to have been selected to acquire the Black News Channel, which has approximately 300 million linear and digital subscribers,” said Allen in a statement, according to a press release. “Allen Media Group will deliver a best-in-class network to serve the underserved African-American community and the advertisers who want to reach this extremely valuable audience. Also, we appreciate the opportunity to provide cable operators, satellite companies, telcos, and digital platforms diversity of ownership, voices, and viewpoints on their programming line-ups by having a 100 percent African-American owned network.”