Byron Allen and his Entertainment Studios, Inc. acquires TheGrio

Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, Inc., announced its acquisition of the New York-based African American-focused digital news platform TheGrio on early last week.

“David Wilson and his founding partner Dan Woolsey have done an incredible job these past 7 years building TheGrio, and we are one thousand percent committed to continue expanding this digital news community’s reach across all global media platforms, including our broadcast television syndication programs, cable television networks, and motion picture division,” Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Entertainment Studios, said in a statement to TheWrap.

“We plan on investing heavily in digital publishing, and TheGrio has an excellent management team, making it the perfect asset to start our portfolio of online publishing.”

TheGrio which derives its’ name from the word griot – a term for a West African storyteller — is a digital video-centric news community platform providing compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national media outlets, according to the announcement.

Its editorial mandate is focused on breaking news, opinion, politics, business, entertainment, health, sports and events that have a unique interest and/or pronounced impact within the African American community. The digital platform currently generates 3 million unique visitors per month.

“We are excited to have TheGrio join Byron Allen’s ever-expanding Entertainment Studios media empire,” Wilson, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of TheGrio, continued.

“Byron shares our vision of growing TheGrio into the leading video content creator and distribution platform for African Americans. We look forward to developing the next iteration of TheGrio, and the fact that it will remain 100 percent African American-owned is very significant.”

About Entertainment Studios, Inc.: Founded by Byron Allen in 1993, Entertainment Studios, Inc. owns 7 24-hour HD cable networks serving nearly 80 million subscribers: Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, Es.TV, MyDestination.TV and JusticeCentral.TV. The company also produces, distributes and sells advertising for 40 television programs.

Source: Wrap