Byron Allen is acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed for $120 million and taking over as CEO.
BuzzFeed said Monday it has entered into a transaction agreement with Allen Family Digital, an affiliate of Allen’s family office, under which the company will receive a majority investment.
Upon completion of the deal, BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti will be succeeded by Allen, who will become chairman and chief executive officer. Peretti will move into a newly created role as president of BuzzFeed AI.
The transaction is currently expected to close by the end of May 2026. Upon closing, Allen Family Digital will own approximately 52% of the company.
The incoming chairman and CEO plans to build on BuzzFeed’s viral brand to expand the company into a premiere free video streaming service.
“Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content,” Allen said. “As of this moment, with the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service.”
Peretti commended Allen for his 30-plus years of dedication to the media business and stated that his “vision, operational experience, and long-term commitment to premium content” makes him well-positioned to lead BuzzFeed and HuffPost in a release Monday.
“And personally, I’m thrilled Byron is taking over ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’s’ time slot, and highly confident that his relationships with talent will bring some incredible stars to the BuzzFeed platform,” Peretti added.
CBS announced last week that Allen Media Group’s comedy talk show, “Comics Unleashed,” would take Colbert’s 11:35 p.m. ET slot airing two back-to-back half-hour episodes nightly beginning May 22.
The company plans to make “significant changes” to its structure, including cost reductions and also setting up the company’s video department, according to the CEO. BuzzFeed Studios will house the company’s growing video slate, including vertical micro-dramas, animation, digital video, and premium studio including feature films.
After 20 years as CEO of BuzzFeed, Peretti will now focus on developing the company’s products and technology to meet the AI moment. Peretti co-founded BuzzFeed in 2006 and served as the chief executive since its founding.
Allen has a long history in the media business. He founded Allen Media Group in 1993 and serves as chairman and CEO. He owns 13 ABC-CBS-NBC network affiliate broadcast television stations in 11 U.S. markets and ten 24-hour television networks serving nearly 275 million subscribers. His stations include The Weather Channel, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV and HBCU GO, among others.
BuzzFeed’s first quarter earnings were down 12.4% year-over-year, delivering a revenue of $31.6 million. Time Spent with the company’s content totaled 60.6 million hours, reflecting an 10.7% decline compared to the first quarter in 2025.
