Byron Allen buys 4 broadcast TV stations

Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, Inc. has acquired four broadcast TV stations in Indiana and Louisiana through its purchase of Bayou City Broadcasting Evansville, Inc. and Bayou City Broadcasting Lafayette, Inc. The media mogul’s Allen Media Broadcasting LLC paid $165 million for the two station groups, the company said Monday.

The purchase of these four Bayou City Broadcasting entities — WEVV (CBS) & WEEV (Fox) in Evansville, Indiana and KLAF (NBC) and KADN (Fox) in Lafayette, Louisiana — provides Allen’s TV arm with “a broader audience and strategically positions the company in broadcast and digital media,” per Entertainment Studios.

Last week, Sinclair Broadcast Group reached a deal to buy 21 Fox regional sports networks (RSNs) from Disney for a total value of $10.6 billion, with Allen — who purchased The Weather Channel in 2018 — on board as an equity and content partner. Read more in The Wrap.