In the primary main restructuring transfer of Byron Allen‘s possession tenure, BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty are set to endure a major spherical of layoffs, with some 180 staffers to be given pink slips, The Hollywood Reporter has discovered. BuzzFeed, throughout all its models, had roughly 510 staff prior to the cuts.
“Today we are making important changes to BuzzFeed that are required to put our business on a path to profitable and sustainable growth,” learn a memo from the corporate’s management to staff on Monday. “Four months ago, in our March earnings call we stated a substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Fortunately after that public announcement, Byron Allen quickly stepped in and made an investment of approximately 26 million dollars into BuzzFeed to stabilize, protect, and grow the company.”
In a $120 million settlement unveiled in May, Allen took a 52 p.c majority stake within the firm in addition to the CEO position from founder Jonah Peretti, funded by $20 million in money and $100 million within the type of a promissory word due 5 years after deal shut.
The transfer was alternately characterised as both a lifeline to the Millennial media firm or a choice of final resort given BuzzFeed’s money crunch as a publicly traded agency. In its newest quarter, BuzzFeed reported a virtually 20 p.c decline in promoting income year-over-year. The firm’s web loss for the quarter was $15.1 million, up from $12.5 million final 12 months. BuzzFeed is ready to report its subsequent earnings disclosure on August 4.
While Allen is almost all stakeholder in BuzzFeed and HuffPost, the corporate is separate from his Allen Media Group holdings, which embrace the linear TV property of The Weather Channel, web site TheGrio, native TV stations in a number of cities, streaming providers Local Now and HBCU Go and branded networks like Cars.TV and Pets.TV. Allen Media, which has round 2,000 staff, underwent a notable spherical of layoffs in 2024 and bought roughly a 3rd of its TV station portfolio for $171 million final 12 months.
“I’m no different than any media company that’s going through a transition,” Allen told THR in May of his calculus for when he makes price cuts. “If we have declines in linear spending, then we rightsize it. We made significant cuts, but these were cuts that were never made before. When I started the company from my dining room table it was go-go-go, grow-grow-grow. Now it’s very different. During the pandemic, what people forget, is I didn’t lay anyone off during the pandemic, not one soul. I said, ‘People before profits.’”
Allen has stated his objective is to rework his enterprise in order that in 5 years it will be powered by a major free promoting video on-demand platform, Local Now, that’s fueled by BuzzFeed and HuffPost content material. Additionally, he’s telegraphed his intentions to pursue a subscription video streamer, Starz, by hostile takeover if crucial.
“Byron sees incredible opportunity in all of our assets and recognizes BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Tasty and BuzzFeed Studios have large audiences and are great brands. BuzzFeed is well-positioned for growth, especially in free streaming,” learn the unsigned memo from BuzzFeed management on Monday. “BuzzFeed Studios will operate as its own entity consolidated under BuzzFeed, Inc., enabling us to maximize synergies across the broader portfolio and secure further investment. Content and Tech teams will be keenly focused on maximizing audience engagement, revenue, and profitability.”
Despite its tumble, BuzzFeed remains to be a big net writer with almost 27.5 million distinctive guests to its flagship web site alone in June, per Comscore figures. But it’s not as scaled as, say, a People (61 million) or perhaps a USA Today (40 million), which can depart it at a strategic crossroads. Its former chief govt, Peretti, is now transferring apart as an operator and will run a division titled BuzzFeed AI so as to take, as he described it, a “hands-on role developing products and technology that are only possible because of recent advances in AI.”
Allen, in the meantime, has discovered new life for his Comics Unleashed collection. In a one-season, time-buy deal, he took over CBS’ Stephen Colbert Late Show time slot. Since selecting up the slot in late May, the collection has averaged underneath 1 million viewers, in contrast to the Late Show‘s 2.9 million average viewers last season. CBS, however, may see a great deal, as Allen tells it. “I said, ‘Let me put that show there and let me buy the time period. I can save you $30 million-$40 million,’” he recalled to THR in May of his pitch to the network. “They said, ‘Brilliant idea, let’s do it.’”
