Charter Communications, TV Mogul Bryon Allen Reach Agreement Over Race Discrimination Battle

According to the Los Angeles Times, TV mogul Bryon Allen has ended his racial discrimination battle with the nation’s second-largest cable TV provider, Charter Communications.

Charter operates Spectrum TV and its Internet service, as well as Comcast Corp.

Allen, a Black LA-based entrepreneur, sued the provider over racism claims, saying the two cable giants refused to distribute his small TV channels.

He filed his lawsuit in 2015, in which he sought $20 billion. The case eventually went on to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The court rejected many of Allen’s arguments. However, the lawsuit is notable because it relied heavily on the historic Civil Rights Act of 1866, which mandates Black citizens “shall have the same right to make and enforce contacts” that white citizens enjoy.

The nation’s highest court ruled—9-0—that it was not enough for a civil rights plaintiff to state his race as one of many factors that caused the company to turn down his offer to do business. Apparently, Allen did not show sufficient evidence that race was the crucial and deciding factor.

Last summer, Comcast settled its part of the lawsuit by agreeing to carry three of Allen’s TV channels on its platform Xfinity. Comcast and Charter denied the discrimination accusations.

On Wednesday, Allen’s company Bryon Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks and Charter released a joint statement saying they had “resolved” the matter and Allen’s company had “withdrawn the lawsuit against Charter Communications.”

According to the news outlet, Allen struggled to get contracts with Comcast and Charter and win slots for seven of his channels—Pets.Tv, Cars.TV, and Comedy.TV. The cable companies claimed they already had similar types of channels.

However, Allen was not defeated and went on to expand his empire over the past years. In 2018, Allen purchased the Weather Channel in a $300-million deal. His company, Allen Media Group, also owns more than a dozen broadcast TV stations.