05 Feb TVNewsCheck: Byron Allen Is A True Believer

A lifetime ago when I was a program director in Washington, D.C., Byron Allen was one of the people who often called to pitch new shows.

Unlike the major syndicators, whose huge budgets allowed them to wine and dine program buyers, Byron was an independent who produced, performed in and marketed his own product. Like most other independents, he never showed up in my office, but he sure knew how to use the phone.

I rarely bought any of Byron’s programs because we seldom had appropriate openings in our schedule, but that didn’t lessen his enthusiasm or slow his pitch. You would have thought I was his best customer, and I’m sure the other program managers in town felt the same way. You had to like the guy because he clearly believed in the value of his product, and he never seemed to give up.