04 Dec Byron Allen’s Light TV Will Transition To ‘TheGrio.TV’ Next Month To Kick Off MLK Day Weekend

By Bruce Haring

Byron Allen’s recently-acquired MGM over-the-air broadcast television network Light TV will transition to TheGrio.TV television network on January 15, 2021.

The newly-rebranded broadcast television network will feature African American-focused content reaching over 100 million US households via over-the-air broadcast television stations, cable/telco/satellite platforms, and free digital streaming.

TheGrio.TV has as its new network brand slogan the phrase, “Our Culture Forever.” The network will feature movies, sitcoms, dramas, concerts, talk shows, variety shows, game shows, news, and lifestyle content.

At one time owned by NBCUniversal, TheGrio.com was purchased by Byron Allen in 2016 when it had less than 1 million monthly active users. In Summer 2020, TheGrio.com achieved its peak of over 10.5 million monthly active users.

In the past 2 years, Allen Media Group has invested over one billion dollars in acquiring media assets, including The Weather Channel in 2018, and 16 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX broadcast network affiliate television stations around the country. Allen Media Group plans to invest an additional $10 billion over the next two years to acquire other strategic media assets.

“The Grio, which means ‘storyteller’ in Africa – is the first platform to offer an online digital news destination, a free streaming app providing local news, weather, sports, traffic, and entertainment content geofenced to the user’s zip code, and an over-the-air broadcast television network,” said Byron Allen, founder/chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “TheGrio.TV is especially important to me, as it will both serve and uplift all viewers. TheGrio.TV is the first and only 100 percent African American-owned and targeted broadcast television network and free digital platform – making us truly authentic, without being filtered or controlled by others outside of the community.”

Allen founded Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Raleigh. Entertainment Studios owns 16 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations and ten 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 180 million subscribers.