Comcast and NBC Universal: Who Benefits?

Congresswoman Waters delivered the following opening remarks at an Energy and Commerce Subcommittee field hearing in Chicago analyzing the Comcast-NBC merger. The Congresswoman was made an honorary member of the Subcommittee for the hearing:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for organizing this field hearing and allowing me the opportunity to participate.  Over the past couple of months, I have been active in advocating for a process in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) review of this merger.  The opportunities for minorities in media have been severely limited as a result of deregulatory policies and large media consolidations.  This has concentrated our media industry into the control of a mere handful of corporations, constraining opportunities for minority ownership of media licenses. While I am not presently opposed to the Comcast-NBC merger, I do recognize it as a critical opportunity for both companies to implement a plan of action to address their shortcomings with respect to minority inclusion within their programming, management, ownership, and advertising activities.

Ultimately, these diversity considerations are taken into account within the FCC's review proceedings.  While both the FCC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have the statutory authority to review media mergers under our federal antitrust laws, the FCC's process allows for a more comprehensive public interest analysis including: "a deeply rooted preference for preserving and enhancing competition…and generally managing the spectrum in the public trust."  Therefore, my concerns about this merger are based on the potential impact on diversity, competition, and whether consumers will enjoy diverse and alternative sources of news and entertainment.  From what we have gathered about the companies' organizational structures, both Comcast and NBC have a lot of work to do. 

NBC Universal (NBCU) has 18 corporate executives.  While 2 of the 18 executives are minorities, including Paula Madison, their primary responsibilities do not include managing networks and producing content. Despite Paula Madison's efforts to work with the key executives to promote diversity throughout NBC Universal, the company continues to fall short in setting tangible benchmarks and achieving results in increasing minority representation among its high level management and executive positions.

NBCU does not have any African American show-runners over its primetime, daytime, or late night programming.  This means, African Americans are not in positions where they oversee budgets and the hiring of actors, writers, co-producers, and technical employees. It is important to have diversity in these management positions because they create employment opportunities for other producers, writers, directors, and actors. 

Similarly, NBC's Universal Studios do not employ African Americans with the authority to decide which film projects are ultimately given the necessary support to make it to the big screen, known as greenlighting. The President and COO of NBC Universal Studios is a white male.  The presidents and chairmen of Universal Pictures and Focus Features are also white. Of the 21 films NBC Universal Pictures released in 2009, only two had minority leads. The overwhelming majority of NBC TV content is produced by white individuals and/or white-owned production companies.

The presidents of all 12 of the NBC Cable Networks are white. Ultimately, these individuals are influential in deciding what show-runners are hired to produce the television shows that will air on these networks. Thus, it is important to have sufficient minority representation in programming to ensure diversity in content the network produces. 

Comcast Corporation also has problems with diversity and inclusion.  Only 1 of Comcast's 13-member Board of Directors is an African American. Only 2 of Comcast's 28 corporate executives are African Americans.  Comcast has 33 Division Executives. While 3 of these executives are minorities, there are no African American division executives listed on Comcast's website who head Comcast's Programming Group. When broken down further by each of Comcast's individual cable networks, only one has an African American president – the Style Network.  There is one Latino executive.  However, he is responsible for advertising sales, not programming.

The barriers to ownership for minorities and women have been studied by various universities and nonprofit organizations.  Currently, TV One is the only U.S. cable network with significant black ownership.  Radio One owns 37% of TV One.  While Comcast carries the network on its most widely distributed tier, it is worth noting that Comcast owns a 33% stake in TV One.   

In 2007, minorities owned just 3.2 percent of the U.S. television stations, despite comprising more than 34 percent of the population.  In fact, of NBC's more than 200 affiliated television stations, only one is black owned.  Ironically, while the National Urban League and its chapters were among the first of our nation's civil rights groups to support the merger, it too released a study in 2005 detailing the broadcast networks' failure to have diverse guests on their Sunday morning news programs.  The study concluded that 60 percent of the Sunday morning talk shows featured no black guests at all, and that 78 percent of the broadcasts contained no interviews with a black guest. 

Therefore, when we discuss NBCU or Comcast's lack of diversity, it is not merely isolated or defined as the absence of minorities in front of the camera.  Credible involvement of minorities starts at the top and trickles down through every job or position that is necessary to produce and distribute a television program or motion picture.  Therefore, it is imperative that NBC Universal and Comcast show their commitments to diversity and present substantive plans that incorporate minorities in all aspects of media programming and distribution activities.  This begins with a strategy to extend opportunities for minorities in media ownership, management, programming, and advertising.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.