Ex-comedian buys ‘Weather’ for $300M

The Weather Channel TV network was sold Thursday — to comedianturned-media-mogul Byron Allen.

Allen’s Entertainment Studios Inc. bought the 36-year-old TV staple from the Blackstone Group, Bain Capital and Comcast.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but sources pegged the price at about $300 million.

The network and its digital property — weather.com — were pur- chased by the trio 10 years ago for $3.5 billion.

The Web properties were sold to IBM in 2015 for $2 billion.

“The Weather Channel is one of the most trusted and extremely important cable networks, with information vitally important to the safety and protection of our lives,” said Allen, who rose to fame as a “Real People” host in 1979. “The acquisition of the Weather Channel is strategic, as we begin our process of investing billions of dollars over the next five years to acquire some of the best media assets around the world.”

Weather Channel Chief Executive Dave Shull said, “Byron Allen’s purchase of our innovative and forwardthinking organization will increase the value we bring to our viewers, distributors and advertisers.”

Founded in 1993 by Allen, Entertainment Studios owns the HD cable networks JusticeCentral.tv, Cars.tv, Pets.tv and Recipe.tv.

The company is also active in the independent film arena with the launch of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures.

Last year, the 56-year-old executive’s company rang box office receipts of $61.7 million from thriller “47 Meters Down” and receipts of $30.9 million from Western “Hostiles.”

Allen, the sole owner of Entertainment Studios, which has its headquarters in Los Angeles, plans to invest more money into the Weather Channel to expand its US and international distribution.