Media mogul Byron Allen sat down for a virtual chat with Black Enterprise President and CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr. to deliver the opening speech of the second day of the 2020 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit. The two men discussed Allen’s childhood, his career, how he became a media giant and his plans for the future.
Allen owns Entertainment Network’s Networks, a collection of ten 24-hour networks including The Weather Channel. He also owns the Black news platform The Grio, while his Allen Media Group has four major locations in California, Oregon, Indiana, Minnesota, and other states.
Allen, who was born in Detroit, Michigan, a little over two weeks after his mother’s 17th birthday, said he got his work ethic by serving his father at Ford Motor Company for over 30 years and his grandfather at Great Lakes Steel at work.
“I just had a very good childhood,” said Allen. “It was a great worker, childhood in the Midwest. I don’t think these people ever called in sick on a day, and they were always trying to figure out how to put 36 hours into a 24 hour day, so I saw this great American work ethic that stayed with me forever . “
The former comedian has also given a lot of credit to his mother, Carolyn Folks, who brought her and Allen to California as a child. Eventually they found their own place and people started attending UCLA Film School.
“She’s a beautiful person, she’s brilliant,” said Allen. “She went to UCLA Film School and because she was going to do her Masters, I went with her and on NBC.”
Allen went on to say that his mother was trying to get a job at NBC. When they declined, people asked if she could be an intern that the network said yes to even though she didn’t have an internship program.
“What changed everything for us is when she asked her if you’d like to do something with me, ‘Can I work for you for free? ‘and they said yes and because she got a job at NBC and as a kid I could go with her and I was exposed a lot. “
The people’s job allowed Allen to see shows like the recordings of Johnny Carson and Redd Foxx as a young teen, and was passionate about the entertainment industry.
Allen worked his way up from a stand-up comedian to a lead actor on NBC. It wasn’t long, however, before everyone realized that the industry didn’t value him as much as he did. According to Allen, a contract battle he had on the hit show Real People led from actor to owner.
“I wanted to get paid in the third year what my white colleagues did in the first year and they didn’t,” Allen said.
Allen added that the dispute was eventually resolved, which allowed him to continue his role on the show into seasons four and five, but the problem was enough for Allen to consider his next move.
“It was a very painful experience when someone told me and my mother what I was worth. In fact, I was released for that period,” Allen said. “At that moment I realized that it wasn’t show business, it was a business show. and my goal is to learn the business. “
The USC graduate also said while chatting with Graves that the work ethic he displayed at a young age is still required today to be successful.
“Anyone can have an idea, ideas are a dozen,” said Allen. “But it’s not just the idea, its implementation, dissemination and monetization of this idea, and you have to master that now.”
Allen added that his aim was to learn the business by attending conventions for people who owned and operated television stations to learn more and make connections that continue to help him to this day. Allen founded Entertainment Studios in 1993 and started his first series Entertainer with Byron Allen – a weekly, hour-long show that introduces the stars of film, television and sports. Most of the interviews were already recorded, which gave everyone time to focus on promoting the show. Due to the popularity of the show and the entry fee to get where it is today, more than $ 1 million in advertising should be sold.
Graves also asked Allen about his lawsuit against Comcast Cable, his fight in the Supreme Court, and whether he really wants to buy CNN one day. Allen replied that it was time for blacks to mature in the media and not wait for a seat at the table.
“This is no longer a question,” said Allen. “That’s an attitude. I’m not asking for a seat at the table, I’ll take one and before you blink I’ll own the table, the house, the property, and everything you can see. “
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