Earlier this month, a report surfaced claiming Nextar Media Group was exploring a potential purchase of the ABC television network. Allen Media Group — controlled by billionaire Byron Allen was also an interested party, but he believes Disney isn’t quite ready to part with the network.
During a discussion with CNBC’s Julie Boorstin at the Code Conference, Allen — who currently owns 27 local television stations in 21 markets, as well as The Weather Channel — confirmed he placed a $10 billion bid to purchase the network, adding that “Capital’s not an issue” for his acquisition.
Allen’s interest in purchasing the network — which he says he’s entertained for nearly a decade — comes after The Walt Disney Company’s CEO Bob Iger publicly questioned whether or not linear television is “core” to the company’s business going forward.
However, Allen shared his belief that Iger “is not ready” to sell the network.
“These legacy companies are trying to reinvent themselves,” Allen said. “It’s like they’re trying to build a new airplane mid-air while they’re flying their old airplane, in a publicly traded entity. This is a very challenging thing to accomplish,” Allen said. “Bob is excellent at what he does, he’s phenomenal, he’s the best person to do it, but whoa, they’re asking him to do something that has not occurred in the last 100 years.”
He then stated that ABC, and linear television as a whole is “really integrated into everything Disney. That’s the hard part.”
Byron Allen then joked that he is going to treat his interest in acquiring the network like “a lion chasing a gazelle”.
