Media mogul Byron Allen seeks streaming deal for his CBS late-night shows

American media mogul Byron Allen is in talks to bring "Comics Unleashed" and "Funny You Should Ask," the two shows that fill his late-night block on CBS, to a major streaming platform, five months after he took over the time slot vacated by Stephen Colbert.

The platform has not been named, and it is not yet clear whether a deal would cover only new episodes or the shows' back catalog as well.

A streaming agreement would give Allen a second outlet for programs that so far have aired first-run only on broadcast television. NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers" stream on Peacock, and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" streams on Hulu. Allen's shows are not on Paramount+, the streaming service owned by CBS parent Paramount Skydance. Older episodes of "Comics Unleashed" are available free on YouTube and on Fox's Tubi service.

A paid time slot

Allen's arrangement with CBS is unusual for network television. His company, Allen Media Group, buys the airtime from the network and sells the national advertising itself. Allen has declined to disclose what he pays. "Comics Unleashed" took over the 11:35 p.m. hour on May 22, after "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" ended its run, and "Funny You Should Ask" follows at 12:37 a.m.

Allen picked the start date because it was the anniversary of Johnny Carson's last night hosting "The Tonight Show" in 1992. Carson gave Allen his first big break when he performed stand-up on the show at 18.

"Between the two time periods, they're saving approximately $150 million+ per year, just on production and marketing," Allen said of CBS in May. He said the figure did not include what he pays for the slot.

Ratings gains

The talks come as Nielsen data for the third quarter show both programs adding younger viewers, though they still trail their network rivals.

First-run episodes of "Comics Unleashed" at 11:35 p.m. averaged 788,000 viewers in the July-to-September period, down 6% from the second quarter, according to Nielsen figures that include a week of delayed viewing. Viewers aged 18 to 49, the group advertisers pay most to reach, rose 15% to 107,000. First-run episodes of "Funny You Should Ask" averaged 528,000 viewers, up 14%, and 86,000 adults aged 18 to 49, up 46%. Both samples were small, with only eight and seven new episodes respectively, most of them shown in late September.

Kimmel led the 11:35 p.m. hour with 2.33 million viewers and 255,000 adults aged 18 to 49. Fallon drew 1.53 million viewers and Meyers 1.03 million.

On Sept. 29, CBS gave "Comics Unleashed" a two-hour primetime special to mark 20 years since the show launched in syndication in 2006. The special also streamed on Paramount+.

A widening media business

Allen, 65, started out as a stand-up comedian and built Allen Media Group into a company that owns local broadcast stations and cable networks including The Weather Channel, which he bought in 2018 in a deal valued at about $300 million.

In May he took control of digital publisher BuzzFeed Inc., buying a 52% stake in a $120 million deal made up of $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note due in five years. He became the company's chairman and chief executive. In July, BuzzFeed disclosed in a regulatory filing that it would cut about 35% of its workforce, roughly 180 jobs across BuzzFeed, HuffPost and Tasty. Allen has said he wants to use BuzzFeed to build a global free streaming service.

He has also been spending on property. This month he bought a $34.3 million condominium at 220 Central Park South in Manhattan.