Byron Allen says he approached CBS after the network planned to end Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, offering to lease the time period and save more than $110 million. Starting Friday, Allen’s Comics Unleashed will air at 11:35 p.m. ET as CBS sunsets The Late Show
When CBS began sunsetting Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, Byron Allen didn’t wait for the fallout to settle. He says he walked into the conversation with a blunt question—one that turned the breakup into a potential payday for both sides.
Starting Friday, Allen’s long-running syndicated comedy series, “Comics Unleashed,” will air at 11:35 p.m. ET as CBS sunsets “The Late Show.” Allen, the media executive who rose to fame as a stand-up comic, called the shift a “business opportunity” that he believes can help expand his media empire.
Allen said that when news broke in July that the Paramount-owned CBS would be booting Colbert and the late-night staple off the air, he approached the network with a simple question. “I said, ‘OK, do you like money?’” he recalled in an interview this week. “They said, ‘Yes!”
Allen is friends with Colbert and said he urged CBS to “not put on another show” if it went through with canceling the cancellation. In his pitch to CBS, Allen says he told the network, “I’ll buy the time period, and you can save over $110 million.”
Under the arrangement, Allen leases the hour and sells the advertising inventory himself. He wouldn’t reveal exactly how much he’s spending on the deal. but said he’s “putting a lot of money in their cash register.” In his own words. he framed it as both confidence and destiny. “I am a gift from the money gods and the comedy gods,” he said.
The television slot has its own backstory for Allen. He described a childhood moment that still feels close to the surface: when he was young. his mother—an NBC employee who couldn’t afford childcare—took him to the studio lot in Burbank. California. where he watched Johnny Carson. “You know. my mom ended up convincing NBC to start an intern program with her. so she could work here for free. ” Allen said. “While I was there. waiting for her to get off work. I’m watching Johnny Carson. and I’m like. wow. Johnny Carson is amazing. and he’s having the time of his life. lots of laughs. lots of fun.”.
It all came full circle in 1979. when Allen got to do stand-up comedy on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” He described stepping onto that stage with a sense of urgency that wasn’t just about comedy—it was about changing the shape of his family’s life. “I was thinking to myself. in the next five minutes I’m going to change my life and my mother’s life forever. so I’m going to go out there and have a great time. and after I make these people laugh. we’re never going to worry about a bowl of cereal again. ” he said.
Allen eventually moved deeper into the media business and founded Allen Media Group (Entertainment Studios) in 1993. He owns television channels including Pets.TV and Cars.TV. In 2018, Entertainment Studios bought the Weather Channel’s parent company. And now, he says, he’s betting on the next phase of digital media as well.
Last week, Allen bought a controlling stake in BuzzFeed, the digital media company co-founded by Jonah Peretti. Allen said his CBS pitch formed much earlier than the buzz around the deal, but he also framed BuzzFeed as part of the same broader ambition: building a platform that can survive and grow.
He said he sees a bright future for BuzzFeed, pointing to the brand’s audience. “Everything Jonah [Peretti] has built in the last 20 years, we are not touching that,” Allen said. “That is the foundation we are building on that, and we’re making it additive.”
Still, BuzzFeed has faced pressure to find a sustainable model. The outlet’s business challenges were described as part of reporting that Allen’s plan would reshape how the site earns and retains users. His plan for the site involves having user-generated content that won’t live behind a paywall and will instead be available on his ad-supported streaming platform. Local Now.
Allen tied that strategy to a pair of words he clearly believes can pull audiences in. “‘Free’ is the world’s favorite word,” he said. “The two best words in media: ‘free’ and ‘streaming’ … bring it together and, poof, you’ve got something magical.”
His ambitions stretch beyond comedy, beyond BuzzFeed, and beyond the screen time he’s buying from CBS. Allen said he eventually wants to control the premium cable network Starz, where he is the second-largest stockholder. “I want to own it. I plan to own it, and somehow one day I’m going to own it and control it,” Allen said. “What I’ve said to them is. what I would like for you to do is. I would like to keep it publicly traded. and I would like for you to let me put more capital in Starz and become the controlling shareholder.”.
That goal may be difficult. Allen has explored other deals that didn’t materialize. including talks with TV station operator Tegna and the NFL’s Washington Commanders. In 2024, he also tried to make a play for Paramount, with coverage of that effort reported by CNBC. Separately, last year, Starz separated from the studio, Lionsgate, to become its own standalone public company.
And just this March. Starz’s board unanimously voted to adopt a limited-duration shareholder protection rights agreement—also known as a “poison pill.” Deadline described the move as a “defensive strategy used by companies against activist investors and hostile takeovers.” A representative for Starz didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Even so, Allen says he won’t slow down.
At 65. he continues to pursue the dreams he links to his family’s earliest sacrifices—especially his mother. still described by him as one of the biggest motivations in his life. “It makes me feel great. because at the end of the day. all I want to do is make my mama proud. no matter how rich I get. ” Allen said. “I’m just still a little scared little boy hanging on to my mother’s leg.”.
Byron Allen CBS Stephen Colbert The Late Show Comics Unleashed Local Now BuzzFeed Jonah Peretti Starz poison pill