Earlier this week, after years of financial struggles, BuzzFeed got a lifeline. Byron Allen, a media entrepreneur known for making sometimes unsolicited bids on massive companies such as Paramount Global and Tegna, has agreed to pay $120 million for a 52 percent stake in the digital-media company. BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti will end his two-decade run as the company’s chief executive and become president of BuzzFeed AI — a role that he’s essentially occupied for years, creating products like BF Island and Quiz Party that have failed to achieve the viral heights of BuzzFeed’s former offerings.

BuzzFeed’s fall from the pinnacle of internet media has been well documented. Algorithmic changes, a plunge in digital advertising money, and investor disfavor have all forced Peretti to scramble to keep his company afloat. Peretti acquired HuffPost and Complex, then took BuzzFeed public in 2021. In 2023, BuzzFeed shuttered its award-winning news division and a year later sold Complex. Saddled with debt and strapped for cash, BuzzFeed earlier this year warned that it had “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business. With its stock trading under $1, it also risked being delisted from the NASDAQ (again). The company had discussions with other potential partners, but Allen stood out for his willingness to buy the whole thing.

Allen, a former comic, says he sees BuzzFeed as a means of creating the next free streaming giant à la YouTube. His private media company, Allen Media Group, owns the Weather Channel and more than 30 local TV stations. Last month, he purchased Stephen Colbert’s late-night slot on CBS, which will now air Comics Unleashed, a comedy talk show hosted by Allen. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

So why are you buying a majority stake in BuzzFeed? I think a lot of people are wondering about your interest in it, given its struggles over the years.I think Jonah Peretti’s done a phenomenal job building two iconic brands. BuzzFeed is a wonderful platform as well as HuffPost. And we see a huge opportunity to build on what they’ve already laid down in the last 20 years and to navigate them to free streaming. The world’s two favorite words: free and streaming. As the cost of living goes up with inflation and gas prices, the word free will become even more popular each and every day. We’re bringing BuzzFeed to the living room and putting it on your screen. So you should be able to go to BuzzFeed soon and stream movies and TV shows and documentaries.

You know, we own something as well called Local Now. And Local Now uses artificial intelligence and proprietary software to curate, aggregate, and stream super-hyperlocal news, weather, sports, and traffic. It’s won Best Streamer twice. And no one knows about it. It’s beat Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney Plus — twice — as Best Streamer and no one knows about it. Everybody knows about BuzzFeed. Everybody knows about HuffPost. So I want to take that technology at Local Now and have it be the engine under the hood for BuzzFeed and HuffPost to provide streaming. That’s the idea.

We have close to a thousand fast channels including a fast show from Johnny Carson, Kevin Hart, People magazine, Architectural Digest, you name it. It’s real simple. We are chasing YouTube. YouTube is amazing,........

© Daily Intelligencer