Verizon Claims Byron Allen Shakedown Threats

Verizon has accused media mogul Byron Allen, founder of Allen Media Group and owner of The Weather Channel, of attempting a "race-bias shakedown." 

The NY Post reports Allen allegedly threatened Verizon with a $10 billion racial discrimination lawsuit unless the company significantly increased its advertising budget with his media outlets, particularly The Weather Channel and other Black-owned networks under Allen Media Group. 

The accusation stems from negotiations where Allen reportedly demanded that Verizon boost its ad spending to match the scale of its $3 billion annual budget, claiming the company’s current spending with Black-owned media was insufficient and discriminatory.

Verizon sources told The New York Post that Allen’s demands were accompanied by threats of legal action, which they characterized as a shakedown leveraging race-bias allegations. They suggested Allen was exploiting diversity concerns to pressure Verizon into a lucrative deal. One insider described Allen’s approach as implying, “Pay me, or I’ll call you racist.” Verizon has not publicly confirmed whether it received a formal legal threat or if a lawsuit has been filed.

Allen has a track record of filing high-profile lawsuits against major corporations, accusing them of racial discrimination in their dealings with Black-owned media. Notably, he sued Comcast and Charter Communications in 2015 for $20 billion and $10 billion, respectively, alleging they refused to carry his channels due to racial bias. The Comcast case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2020 ruled that Allen needed to prove race was the sole reason for the refusal, sending the case back to a lower court. Comcast later settled in 2020, agreeing to carry three of Allen’s channels (Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, and JusticeCentral.TV) and extending a deal for The Weather Channel. Charter settled in 2021 without disclosing financial terms.

According to The Post, Allen’s demands included Verizon allocating a larger portion of its advertising budget to his networks, particularly The Weather Channel, which he acquired in 2018. Verizon reportedly viewed these demands as excessive, with one source claiming Allen was seeking “hundreds of millions” in ad commitments. The company’s resistance led to Allen’s alleged threat of a racial discrimination lawsuit, a tactic critics argue he has used to pressure other corporations into settlements.