17403: Byron Allen Increases His Starz Power.

Variety reported media mogul Byron Allen pivoted from his crusade against Mickey D’s, acquiring a 10.7% stake in Starz Entertainment for $25 million. Can’t help but wonder if Allen’s McSettlement money helped finance the Starz move.

 

One way to fight disempowerment is to seize power.

 

Byron Allen Acquires 10.7% Stake in Starz From Steve Mnuchin’s Investment Firm for $25 Million

 

By Todd Spangler

 

Allen Family Capital, the investment arm of media mogul Byron Allen, acquired a 10.7% stake in Starz Entertainment for $25 million in a private transaction with Liberty Steve Mnuchin’s Liberty 77 Capital.

 

In an announcement Thursday, Allen Family Capital said it acquired 1,803,786 common shares of Starz at a purchase price of $13.86 per common share for aggregate consideration of $25 million. The deal gives Allen — who previously didn’t own any Starz shares — beneficial ownership of approximately 10.7% of Starz’s issued and outstanding common shares.

 

On March 4, Mnuchin’s Liberty Funds entered into an agreement to sell all of the shares owned by them in a private sale transaction for $25 million, per an SEC filing. Mnuchin is the former Hollywood producer who served as Treasury Secretary during President Trump’s first term.

 

In May 2025, Lionsgate completed the split with the Starz premium cable and streaming business, which is now a separately traded company. Mnuchin owns about 13% of Lionsgate Studios and joined the company’s board in January.

 

Starz ended 2025 with 12.7 million U.S. streaming subscribers, gaining 370,000 in the year-end period. Total subscribers across Starz platforms reached 17.6 million, up 170,000 sequentially. Streaming revenue for Q4 2025 was $210.3 million (down from $239 million in the prior-year quarter), while linear and “other” revenue rose to $112.5 million vs. $105.5 million at the end of 2024. The company reported a net loss of $20.7 million, an improvement from a net loss of $31.8 million a year earlier.

 

Beverly Hills-based Allen Family Capital is the private investment firm and family office of Byron Allen.

 

Allen acquired the stake in Starz “for investment purposes and intends to review such investment on a continuing basis. As such, Allen may, depending on Starz’s performance and other market conditions, increase or decrease the investment position,” the firm said in its announcement.

 

“Allen may, from time to time, make additional acquisitions of Common Shares or other securities of Starz either in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, including transactions directly with Starz,” Allen Family Capital said. Such decisions will be based on its “evaluation of Starz’s business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations, the market for the Common Shares or other securities, other opportunities available to Allen, general economic conditions, stock market conditions and other factors.”

 

Allen Media Group, founded in 1993, owns and/or operates 27 ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and 10 television networks serving nearly 300 million subscribers including the Weather Channel, TheGrio and HBCU Go. The company also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 74 TV programs.  

17216: Comical Court Cases Unleashed With Byron Allen…?

 

Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen is coming to CBS, slotted right after slated-to-be-cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

 

If advertisers fail to support Allen’s show, there will be hell to pay—via discrimination lawsuits.

17097: Mickey D’s & Byron Allen Reach A McSettlement.

 

Advertising Age republished Crain’s Chicago Business content reporting Mickey D’s and Byron Allen settled the media mogul’s $10 billion discrimination lawsuit.

 

Reaching a confidential agreement means the public will never learn the amount collected by Allen. The deal includes a McPromise to continue buying advertising from Allen’s Entertainment Studios Network.

 

Expect to see McWeather Reports delivered by Ronald McDonald and Grimace.

 

For now, hopefully, Allen feels Black & Positively Golden^®.

 

McDonald’s settles Byron Allen’s $10B ad discrimination lawsuit

 

McDonald’s has settled a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Byron Allen, apparently ending a years-long legal drama between the fast food giant and media mogul over alleged discrimination in advertising practices.

 

In a June 13 press release, McDonald’s announced it reached a confidential agreement in which it will continue to purchase advertising from Allen’s Entertainment Studios Network priced at market value in exchange for the network’s dismissal of the suit.

 

Allen, who owns properties such as The Weather Channel and Justice Central, filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s in 2021, alleging the Chicago-based chain discriminated against his company through racial stereotyping and refusals to contract. Two years later, Allen escalated by buying a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune soliciting activist investor Carl Icahn to join the legal fight and suing again, alleging McDonald’s was not on track to meet a 2021 commitment to spend more of its advertising budget with Black-owned media companies. That complaint was dismissed in 2024.

 

The original suit filed in 2021 was slated to go to trial next month.

 

“We are pleased that Mr. Allen has come to appreciate McDonald’s unwavering commitment to inclusion, and has agreed to refocus his energies on a mutually beneficial commercial arrangement that is consistent with other McDonald’s supplier relationships,” McDonald’s said in the release.

 

“During the course of this litigation, many of our preconceptions have been clarified, and we acknowledge McDonald’s commitment to investing in Black-owned media properties and increasing access to opportunity,” Entertainment Studios Network said in the McDonald’s release. “Our differences are behind us, and we look forward to working together.”

 

—Crain’s Chicago Business

16917: DEI Fact-Checking Fast-Talking Fast Feeder.

 

Forbes published content that feels like corporate-sponsored performative PR, seeking to explain the scenario that should be called Mickey DEI’s.

 

National news sources—including Forbes—initially headlined Mickey D’s joined other major brands abandoning DEIBA+ heat shields.

 

This latest Forbes content, however, seemingly whitewashes the proceedings to cast the Golden Arches in a progressive light.

 

Exposing the McTruth requires answering the following questions:

 

Will non-White advertising agencies receive even fewer McCrumbs?

 

Will the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association be adversely affected?

 

Will Black & Positively Golden^® lose its luster?

 

Will Byron Allen deliver color commentary—or subpoenas?

 

McDonald’s Stands Firm Against DEI Pushback, Emphasizes Inclusion

 

By Corinne Post

 

Under growing scrutiny of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, McDonald’s is the latest company to publicly communicate changes to its DEI strategy. While headlines often emphasize what firms are scaling back, McDonald’s statement highlights what it is choosing to retain—offering insights into which practices are likely to endure.

 

The fast-food giant announced plans earlier this week to discontinue aspirational quotas, pause participation in external surveys and remove mandatory supplier diversity pledges. Yet, its reaffirmed commitments suggest that effectively managing diversity remains a cornerstone of its long-term competitiveness strategy.

 

Here’s a closer look at how McDonald’s aims to embed inclusion into its operations and strengthen its competitive advantage—offering valuable lessons for organizations reevaluating their DEI initiatives.

 

Inclusion Converts McDonald’s Diversity Into Competitiveness

 

McDonald’s renewed focus on inclusion reflects a key finding from research: diversity alone is not enough to drive innovation or high performance—success depends on fostering inclusion. As McDonald’s explains it, “Our system leverages inclusion to operate successfully and grow our businesses” and “early and full adoption of inclusion gives us a competitive advantage.”

 

For employees to contribute their perspectives and unique resources, they must feel like integral members of the organization, with access to the resources they need and opportunities to influence work-related decisions. McDonald’s Employee Business Networks (EBNs) exemplify how the company embeds inclusion into its operations: “We also lean on employee business networks and franchisee affinity groups to help us solve business problems,” the company states.

 

This approach emphasizes that inclusion is not an isolated initiative, but a practice woven into daily operations, supporting McDonald’s commitment to “continuing to embed inclusion practices that grow our business into our everyday process and operations.”

 

McDonald’s approach underscores that fostering inclusion in all daily operations can convert diversity into a competitive advantage.

 

McDonald’s Diverse Workforce Demands Inclusive Leadership

 

McDonald’s highlights the importance of inclusive leadership as a key factor in sustaining a diverse workforce, even as it pauses external surveys. These surveys previously served to benchmark progress and foster transparency by sharing diversity outcomes externally. By discontinuing them, McDonald’s signals a shift toward internal evaluation methods, aiming to embed inclusion directly into its operations rather than focusing on external reporting.

 

Notably, firms continue to emphasize the need for executives to develop and apply inclusive leadership skills as they remove their DEI initiatives from public scrutiny.

 

Although firms face increasing pressures from anti-DEI activists, in the form of shareholder proposals and public campaigns, the fundamental challenges that have made diversity a strategic priority for corporate leaders—talent shortages, competitive pressures—remain unchanged. This explains why firms like McDonald’s see inclusive leadership as critical to navigating these challenges.

 

As firms respond to both anti-DEI pressures and market realities, McDonald’s demonstrates that leadership remains a crucial lever for embedding inclusion in ways that drive long term success in workplace diversity.

 

McDonald’s Empowers Communities To Champion Diversity

 

The fast-food chain’s approach to fostering inclusion mirrors the co-design principles used by companies like REI and Mattel, particularly in its collaboration with Employee Business Networks and franchisees. Co-design principles emphasize designing DEI projects with rather than for identity-based groups by involving them throughout the process.

 

As McDonald’s explains in their public statement: “Our system thrives when we are shaped by the communities in which we operate.”

 

Unlike superficial consultation, McDonald’s states that the EBNs are involved in business-related decision-making. As such, EBNs are more than advisory groups—they are actively sought out to address business challenges a strategy that has been highly effective at other organizations, like IBM.

 

In addition to collaborating with EBNs, McDonald’s also entrusts franchisees with spearheading local diversity initiatives, empowering them “to champion causes and participate in activities that resonate with their customers and communities in a way that’s true to our Brand’s DNA.”

 

This approach highlights the company’s belief that inclusion stems from continuous engagement with communities, learning from them, rather than only imposing solutions from the top that risk being ineffective.

 

Ultimately, McDonald’s co-design approach reflects a shift from compliance-driven diversity to community-centered inclusion.

 

Accountability, Key To McDonald’s Inclusion Gains

 

The fast-food giant emphasized accountability as core to its long term diversity strategy. McDonald’s pledged to publicly report board, employee and supplier demographics in its annual Purpose and Impact report. It also said the firm will continue to hold its leaders accountable “for fostering an inclusive environment within their teams.”

 

Accountability is one of the most reliable levers for improving workforce diversity. That is because when leaders expect their decisions to be evaluated, they are more likely to act purposefully to suppress their biases, according to researchers Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev, who have extensively studied the efficacy of diversity initiatives.

 

When leaders know that they may be asked to explain poor inclusion scores on their teams, they are more motivated to review their leadership practices. This should encourage them to develop inclusive leadership skills.

 

Similarly, publicizing workforce demographic numbers encourages scrutiny, which may motivate firms to have internal processes that promote fair and equitable hiring and promotion decisions.

 

However, diversity accountability may be limited to the demographic groups for which firms disclose numbers. McDonald’s last report provides information only on the representation of women and of five racio-ethnic groups. Notably, the firm’s most recent pledge does not mention franchisee demographics—a key feature of its last report, which may indicate a strategic decision to limit reporting in this area.

 

The Big Picture Takeaway

 

McDonald’s response to growing scrutiny shows that evolving a DEI strategy doesn’t have to mean scaling back efforts. By embedding inclusion into daily operations, prioritizing leadership accountability, and empowering employee networks and franchisees, the company demonstrates how DEI can remain a competitive asset rather than a compliance exercise. For organizations navigating similar pressures, McDonald’s approach underscores that thoughtful adaptation—rooted in transparency and collaboration—can strengthen both organizational resilience and community connections.

16730: Delayed WTF 61—General Motors, General Market, General Mayhem.

 

MultiCultClassics is often occupied with real work. As a result, a handful of events occur without the expected blog commentary. This limited series—Delayed WTF—seeks to make belated amends for the absence of malice.

 

GM Authority reported on the General Motors multi-car wreck, whereby the automaker decided to roll with a new line of White advertising agencies.

 

There are key issues in the GM fiasco that warrant rants, including:

 

• The GM Global Chief Transformation Officer gushed the car company “selected the very best-in-class agencies in the entire world.” Um, GM can’t manage to produce best-in-class vehicles, so their ability to identify best-in-class White advertising agencies should be questioned for sure.

 

• The corporation that took full advantage of a bailout in 2008 is now bailing out of Detroit—at least in terms of advertising—effectively decimating the Midwest marketing community. The destruction will include shops literally fabricated to exclusively service GM—as well as workers who ran the promotional assembly lines. Social media voices are reacting to the sad situation, along with even sadder regional White advertising agencies.

 

• In most of the trade journal content, there were no mentions of non-White advertising agencies affected by the GM move. On a related tip, does Shaquille O’Neal—co-founder of multicrumbtual marketing firm Majority—really know about the systemic racism in the industry? Does the NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer realize he’s playing on the B squad? Perhaps he ought to team up with Byron Allen.

 

General Motors has a shiny new fleet of White advertising agencies. But in the end, it’s the same old story.

 

GM Adding New Roster Of Ad Agencies

 

By Rhian Hunt

 

GM is significantly shaking up its advertising partners, hiring an assortment of new creative and media agencies to handle several key marketing aspects while keeping some of the “old guard” ad agencies for certain parts of its promotional strategy.

 

The General is looking outside Detroit for many of its new ad creators, ranging as far afield as both U.S. coasts and Texas as it tries bringing new blood to a challenging sales environment, as Ad Age reports.

 

Ad content creation will now be handled by a lineup of new ad agencies, including Media.Monks, Preacher, Mother, 72andSunny, and Anomaly, with as many as 16 different companies contacted by GM during its advertising review. According to Molly Peck, the automaker’s Global Chief Transformation Officer, GM “selected the very best-in-class agencies in the entire world.”

 

According to Peck, the company will move away from an “agency of record” or AOR model of advertising in which a specific agency is authorized to handle an enterprise’s advertising for it. Instead, GM will set an advertising strategy, and then “a roster of agencies” will execute “the creative vision—the brand, the look, the tone, the feel, the major campaigns” to give customers new ads in “a very fast, efficient and prolific way.”

 

Some of the “old guard” agencies will continue to have roles to play, such as Commonwealth/McCann, which will develop future international Chevy ad campaigns. Commonwealth/McCann created the “Together Let’s Drive” tagline for Chevy, an advertising slogan that also calls for unity at a time of strong U.S. political division.

 

Part of GM’s quest for a more flexible, customized, and varied ad development process seems to be a response to the challenge of marketing electric vehicles at a time when nearly half of previous American EV buyers are returning to ICE vehicles, but GM continues its mission to drastically expand its electric vehicles sales.

 

GM began its ad agency assessment at the start of this year, following its appointment of Norm de Greve as senior vice president and chief marketing officer last July. Molly Peck assumed the mantle of General Motors’ global transformation officer, following years of marketing experience at Buick and GMC, in April of this year and immediately began work on changing GM’s marketing operations to align better with the needs of the times.

 

General Motors spent $2.9 billion in U.S. advertising in 2023, a major chunk of its $3.6 billion global advertising budget, though the amount is down 10 percent year over year, according to Ad Age. 

16687: General Motors Rides Into General Market With New White Advertising Agencies.

 

MediaPost reported General Motors is driving with new White advertising agencies, including Anomaly, Mother, Preacher, and 72andSunny. The content did not feature any mention of non-White advertising agencies in the revised roster—or color commentary from Byron Allen.

 

General Motors Chooses New Agency Partners

 

By Tanya Gazdik

 

General Motors is switching up its agency roster in what it says is a quest to develop creative that prompts the automaker to rise to the top of vehicle purchase consideration lists.

 

“GM is building a modern global marketing model to ensure customers consider GM vehicles first, today and in the future,” says Molly Peck, global chief transformation officer at General Motors.

 

The model includes a mix of current and new agencies.

 

This includes a new relationship with agencies “designed to deliver fresh, breakthrough creative” including Anomaly, Mother, Preacher and 72andSunny, the automaker said in a statement to Marketing Daily.

 

They will be supported by MediaMonks “which will bring a modern approach to real-time, efficient content development.”

 

These agencies will be joined by Omnicom Precision Marketing Group, which will serve as GM’s lead agency for CRM, and Dentsu, which will remain the automaker’s lead media agency.

 

Chevrolet’s incumbent is Interpublic’s Commonwealth/McCann, while Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett has handled creative for Buick, GMC and Cadillac. Both holding companies remain on the automaker’s agency roster.

 

Leo Burnett will continue to support pieces of the GM business (customer care and after sales and some global work), as will Commonwealth (continuing at a reduced scope for 2024) and McCann (GM brand and corporate), according to a GM spokesperson.

 

Anomaly will have lead duties on Chevy, Mother will lead Buick, 72andSunny has Cadillac and Preacher gets GMC.

 

While the agencies have some brand duties, GM is moving away from an AOR structure.

 

“The agencies above will support those specific areas of the business while Media.Monks will work across agencies and brands to support day-to-day operations and helping brands connect with customers faster and more efficiently with their messaging/creative,” according to the automaker.

 

Mother called the review “one of the hottest pitches of the year.”

 

“From the start of the pitch process, we shared a similar energy, ambition and collaborative spirit with the Buick team,” the agency said in a statement. “Together, we hope to create a fresh and vibrant platform, for a fast growing brand that operates by a different marketing playbook and exudes a deserved confidence in their vehicles. It feels like an assignment that was made for Mother.”

 

These changes conclude a review that began in January under Global Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer Norm de Greve. GM worked with SnapPoint on the review process, a GM spokesperson confirmed.

 

Last month, GM selected Stream Companies as an approved digital advertising and SEO partner in GM’s Dealer Digital Solution Program, servicing more than 4,000 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac dealerships.

 

The automaker is extending the opportunity for all eligible dealerships to leverage matching funds for covering the expenses of Stream Digital Advertising and SEO services. The program offers dealers access to a collection of digital products and services aimed at driving sales and service business.

 

The program allows retailers to better identify website visitors, market to past clients and future shoppers and measure advertising in new ways.

16541: BHM 2024—Mickey D’s.

 

For BHM 2024, Mickey D’s Black & Positively Golden^® presents a minority scholarship and gospel music tour—once again providing evidence supporting Byron Allen’s $10 billion lawsuit that charges the fast feeder delivers discriminatory crumbs to Black media, businesses, and communities.

16536: BHM 2024—Byron Allen & Mickey D’s.

Okay, this is definitely not a BHM moment: MediaPost reported Byron Allen lost his $100 million lawsuit against Mickey D’s.

 

Allen’s separate $10 billion lawsuit against the Golden Arches is still pending, so the latest dismissal might just be a McBump in the road. Plus, it’s a safe bet that Allen will appeal the ruling.

 

But it sure feels like bad timing to announce the news during Black History Month—and don’t expect any mention of the event at Black & Positively Golden^®.

 

Byron Allen Loses $100M Lawsuit Against McDonald's

 

By Tanya Gazdik

 

Suing giant corporations can be fraught.

 

While the companies have deep pockets for potential judgments, they also can use those same resources to “lawyer up” to the umpteenth degree.

 

Case in point: Byron Allen and the Allen Media Group (which includes Entertainment Studios Networks and The Weather Channel) has lost a $100 million fraud lawsuit against McDonald’s.

 

The lawsuit accused the fast food giant of not following through on a pledge to dramatically increase national ad spending with Black-owned media outlets.

 

“Facing discrimination claims, the home of the Big Mac in May 2021 unveiled a self-described four-year plan to pump up its national media spending with said Black-owned companies from 2% to 5%,” according to Deadline.

 

The suit hinged on a specific interpretation of claims McDonald’s made in a press release outlining its pledges to increase its spending with Black-owned businesses overall, according to Variety.

 

McDonald’s argued that the lawsuit violated California’s “anti-SLAPP” statute, a 20-year-old regulation that allows defendants to ask a judge to dismiss a case that lacks merit and is tied to free speech, according to Restaurant Business.

 

The California state court judge dismissed the case, “finding that McDonald’s will likely win the case if it’s allowed to proceed, since the company still has more time to live up to its vow,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

 

Allen, the publicized bidder for Paramount Global, is not without “deep pockets” himself.

 

Louis Miller, a lawyer representing Allen Media Group, said the ruling will be appealed. He said that California law bars “companies from making false statements to the public.”

 

It’s not the only lawsuit the Allen Media Group has initiated.

 

“Allen Media Group has a separate $10 billion lawsuit pending against McDonald’s in federal court, alleging that it discriminates through racial stereotyping in its advertising practices, violating civil rights laws,” according to Variety.

 

McDonald’s issued a triumphant statement after the court win, per Deadline. The company’s interpretation of the judgment is that McDonald’s will be unable to appeal.

 

“The court’s decision serves as confirmation of what we’ve said all along: this was just another frivolous lawsuit brought by Byron Allen as part of his smear campaign against McDonald’s,” according to a statement by the company.

 

“The court dealt Mr. Allen a crushing blow by dismissing this case for good, ruling that he failed to show that his claims had even ‘minimal merit,’ and the loss requires Mr. Allen to pay McDonald’s legal fees,” per the statement. “McDonald’s long ago made clear that we would not allow Mr. Allen to perpetuate false narratives at our expense or succumb to his extortionist tactics. Moving forward, we will continue to collaborate with diverse-owned partners and remain committed to advancing inclusion and diversity efforts.”

 

Allen has made similar claims against General Motors over its media spending practices, but has not filed any legal action.

 

“Meanwhile, one major company has garnered Allen’s praise,” according to MediaPost. The Allen Media Group and Verizon partnered to host a Black-owned media summit.