Allen’s Allen Media Group (AMG) says that it has hired the investment bank Moelis & Company to market its local stations, which are comprised of 28 ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliated stations in 21 markets.AMG owns stations in Honolulu, Hawaii; Madison, Wisconsin; Montgomery, Alabama; Flint, Michigan; and Tucson, Arizona, among other cities. The company says that it will use the cash generated from any sale to “significantly reduce” its outstanding debt.“Six years ago, Allen Media Group began the process of investing over one billion dollars to acquire big four network-affiliated television stations. We have received numerous inquiries and written offers for most of our television stations and now is the time to explore getting a return on this phenomenal investment,” said AMG founder and CEO Byron Allen. “We are going to use this opportunity to take a serious look at the offers, and the sale proceeds will be used to significantly reduce our debt.”The company has had to undergo cuts over the last year or so as it has grappled with a rapidly changing media environment. In February it refinanced its $100 million revolving credit facility to give it more runway to execute.The sale plans, cuts and refinancing are indicative of many of the issues facing linear TV companies, which are feeling the pinch of cord-cutting )local stations are beneficiaries of retransmission fees, just like cable channels) as well as a more competitive advertising environment, with tech and entertainment giants moving toward more automated ad buying.AMG has, in recent years, been a buyer, rather than a seller. Though most of its acquisitions have been modest in scale, and more focused on linear TV (some syndicated fare and the local TV stations being among the best examples).Allen, who began his media career as a comedian (he still practices the art after debuting on The Tonight Show at age 18), had turned AMG into a rollup vehicle in recent years, acquiring not only its stable of local TV stations but also brands like The Weather Channel and The Grio. The company also produces syndicated TV programming, including a slate of courtroom and judge shows, and Comics Unleashed, which is taking over the post-Late Show timeslot on CBS.The mogul has never been shy about expressing his ambitions. He told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2020 profile that he would love to own CNN: “I’m close to the same age when Rupert Murdoch came here to America,” he said. “He was in his 50s. I’m 59. What you see today will be 10,000 times bigger.”And last year, his company said that it made a $14 billion offer for Paramount Global, though it did not disclose who its strategic partners would be in any such bid.AMG has a streaming presence through FAST channels, a Weather Channel streaming option and offerings like HBCU Go, but the company is modest in scale compared to other independent TV companies, underscoring the challenges of making the jump to digital.
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