BYRON ALLEN'S ALLEN MEDIA GROUP ELEVATES CHRIS MALONE TO CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Veteran Finance Executive Will Continue to Lead and Implement Allen Media Group's Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Finance Initiatives

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Byron Allen's Allen Media Group (AMG) proudly announces the elevation of Christopher Malone to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Malone was initially brought to AMG in June as Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Development, and will now assume the Chief Financial Officer title -- a position recently held on an interim basis by Bill Higgs, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AMG's Weather Group division. A sixteen-year veteran executive with the company, Higgs will continue as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AMG's Weather Group. In his newly-elevated position, Malone will continue to help lead AMG senior management in M&A efforts and other corporate strategic initiatives encompassing capital markets, private equity, and credit. Malone will remain based at the AMG headquarters in Los Angeles.

Malone played an integral role in financing notable AMG transactions over the past five years, including the AMG acquisition of The Weather Channel in 2018, and the approximate $1 billion investment by AMG to acquire 27 ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX broadcast network-affiliated television stations nationwide. Malone came to AMG from his recent position as a Principal with Stellex Capital Management. Prior to that, Malone was a Director at Brightwood Capital and previously held Investment Analyst, Private Equity, and Investment Banking positions at RLJ Equity Partners, William Blair, and Credit Suisse. Malone earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Hampton University and earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

"I am very excited to elevate Chris Malone within the Allen Media Group family to Chief Financial Officer, where Chris will be valuable in helping to lead our M&A efforts and other strategic financial initiatives," said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. "Chris plays a vital role in helping Allen Media Group continue its trajectory of growth and execute on the large number of acquisition opportunities in front of us."

"It has been exciting to see the strong growth of Allen Media Group over the past five years and it is even more exciting to join at such a dynamic time for the company," said Chris Malone, Chief Financial Officer. "The industry is experiencing rapid transformation as well as increased consolidation and Allen Media Group is well-positioned to capitalize on this changing paradigm given its strong and differentiated position. I look forward to continue working with the Allen Media Group team to execute on the short-term and long-term acquisition targets."

About Allen Media Group / Entertainment Studios 
Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charleston, SC. Allen Media Group owns 27 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and twelve 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 220 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPAÑOL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO, THIS TV, and PATTRN. Allen Media Group also owns the streaming platforms HBCU GO, SPORTS.TV, THE GRIO STREAMING APP, THE WEATHER CHANNEL STREAMING APP and LOCAL NOW--the free-streaming AVOD service powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 68 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. Allen Media Group International Television continues to extend its corporate branding and content around the globe.  It currently has active license agreements and programming in South Africa, The United Arab Emirates, Australia, The Bahamas, Canada and New Zealand.  With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, and multimedia digital. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners.

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service, theatrical motion picture distribution company specializing in wide release commercial content. ESMP released 2017's highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN, which grossed over $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Western HOSTILES, the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films.

In 2016, Allen Media Group purchased The Grio, a highly-rated digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. The Grio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors.

For more information, visit:
www.entertainmentstudios.com

SOURCE Allen Media Group