 Byron Allen |
Comedian-turned media mogul, Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Inc. has bought The Weather Channel for an estimated $300M from a consortium of Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, and Comcast NBCUniversal.
The deal does not include the Weather Group’s weather.com and other digital assets, which IBM bought in 2015.
ESI, which Allen launched 25 years ago, produces, distributes and syndicates more than 40 TV programs, owns eight cable TV networks including Pets.TV, Recipe TV. Justice Central TV and MyDestination TV and runs Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures (“47 Meters Down” shark thriller, “Hostiles” western).
Allen called TWC “one of the most trusted and important cable networks” and the beginning of ESI’s process of “investing billions of dollars over the next five years to acquire some of the best media assets around the world.”
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