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A week ago, we reported that the National Coalition of African-American Owned Media (NCAAOM) was looking to boycott Comcast if it didn't feature 100 percent African American-owned channels. Well, the group made good on its promise, filing an opposition to the Comcast-NBCU merger on Sunday.Amid controversy surrounding CNN's hiring of Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker, and talk about how increasingly white cable news stations are becoming, is the argument that cable across the board is lacking black representation, especially on the ownership level.
Today, the two black-centered networks that offer black programming are not wholly owned by blacks: TV One is a partnership with Comcast and Radio One. BET, even in its initial stages, was influenced by investor John Malone, and eventually BET founder Bob Johnson sold the network to Viacom.
The question is whether there are wealthy black entrepreneurs interested in financing a black-owned channel? Or even a pool of middle-income black businesspeople interested in a black network? African Americans are the second largest consumer group in the country, with a buying power of an estimated $892 billion-plus.
Can't we pull the money together for an independent black-owned channel? Or in this increasingly integrated sitcom and reality show television landscape, is there just not any interest anymore?
Stanley E. Washington, NCAAOM president and CEO, thinks there is. In a newswire report, he says:
"The time has come for Comcast to know that African Americans will no longer live on the Comcast plantation. Comcast must immediately do business with African American-owned media in a significant way. Until they do so, we're continuing to boycott and actively campaign to have African American families and our supporters disconnect Comcast services."
Washington continued:
"Our community represents up to 40 percent of Comcast's subscriber base, which means that we are paying them at least $15 billion a year. By not supporting African American ownership in a significant way, Comcast denies the African American community the same opportunity they afford others. We continue to advocate strongly for 100 percent African American channel ownership, because Comcast has a history of requiring equity for distribution from independent channel owners. Further, in order to protect the integrity of our content and to build multiple long-term owners, we seek to reduce the reliance on private equity, which typically has mandatory five- to- seven-year exit points, which forces a significant reduction in African-American ownership control. The overall lack of African-American ownership is a national disgrace and continues one of our nation's most important unfinished agendas."
Here are the findings from the report:
· *In many of the U.S. cities where Comcast has a dominant share of the cable market, African Americans comprise a majority or near majority of the population. For example, in Philadelphia -- the city in which Comcast is headquartered -- African Americans make up more than 43 percent of the city's population. A little more than half of all residents of Washington, D.C., are African American. In Detroit, 8 out of 10 residents are African American. Other Comcast markets with high concentrations of African American subscribers include: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Chicago, Jackson, MS, Memphis, New Orleans, Oakland, CA, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham and many more.
· *Comcast brings in approximately $3 billion per month, $36 billion per year, from nearly 24 million cable subscribers. Based on the large African American populated cities served by Comcast, we estimate there are millions of African American subscribers who contribute approximately 40 percent or $15 billion of Comcast's annual revenue. Because of the enormous support that the African American community has shown Comcast over four decades, we find it unconscionable that none of the 250 plus channels that are offered on the Comcast platform are 100 percent African American owned and widely distributed.
· *Not one of the networks on Comcast's cable television platform is 100 percent African American owned and widely distributed.
· *The deal will reduce competition by permitting Comcast- NBCU to play favoritism to their massive portfolio of 44 owned cable networks, and more to be launched in the future, in lieu of 100 percent African American-owned channels, which will never get widely distributed.
· *The 2009 compensation packages of Brian Roberts, chairman, and Steve Burke, chief operating officer of Comcast, were in excess of $35 million each. These two men, Brian Roberts and Steve Burke, paid themselves significantly more than what Comcast paid to wholly owned African American media collectively.
· *Comcast spends approximately $7 billion per year on content from cable networks and less than $2 million per year is allocated to wholly owned African-American networks.
· *Businessman Alvin James, along with Marlon Jackson of the Jackson 5, Attorney Willie E. Gary, Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield and baseball icon Cecil Fielder, raised in excess of $60 million to fund a 100 percent African American-owned network called The Black Family Channel. Instead of Comcast ensuring that The Black Family Channel succeeded, they exploited these African American entrepreneurs by charging them millions of dollars in unnecessary launch fees. If Comcast did not support a network called The Black Family Channel, why should black families support Comcast?
Comcast's perspective is probably "if ain't broke why fix it?" Black people are watching and giving their money to the cable company without having a black-owned network, why should it change its formula?
Comments: (6)
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By: Jam Donaldson on 6/28/2010 5:17PM
why only comcast and not any of the other cable providers?
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By: Dianne on 6/29/2010 12:22PM
As you know from reading the article,Philadelphia Headquartered Comcast exists where there are two (not just one) large Urban ghettoes.The latter fact was pointed out to me the first time that I went to an Al Jarreau concert in the Mann Theatre,at the Park(increasingly run-down)which has a number of historic homes located just east of the suburb where Will Smith grew up; also where the "Main Line" begins, where Grace Kelly grew up, just before it becomes the Lancaster Pike, on the other end of which I live but not for long because the stench of Republican dirty-tricks is heavier than the manure on the air during tourist season.
So, one end of the line is famous for its Abolitionist history, on the American scene hand in hand with the Niagara Conference where my sister-in-law lives on the Canadian side, but over here,what are Lancaster,Chester,and Berks counties famous for,the massacre of baptized non-white Christians by expansionist Scots-Irish who had the same thing done to them in Europe, the burning out of homesteads and farms by paddyrollers who crossed over from Maryland into Chester and Lancaster for bounty, and Berks still has a heimlichkeit Aryanism as the seasons change from Oktoberfest to Belsnickel.
For a start, I'd be satisfied if the gd polling places were taken out of the lavish Republican churches of Lancaster, for the honor of the Separation of Church and State. They have been flashing the wealth bestowed on them by the Bush administration equally across the boards in order to reward the most conservative Right Evangelicals whose mind set furthered the Bush plans in the Middle East to destroy the opposition to their personal family Oil
income. And I can't begin to tell you my thoughts on current New Orleans where my father-in-law was born. You figure it out, why I am angry this hot summer which may get hotter. Comcast is practicing dangerous censorship of information.
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By: Focus on 6/28/2010 11:08PM
Stop demanding if there's no good product. TV One is a heck of a lot better than BET programming. I could care less who owns it. The quality of black shows they have on is proof enough for me. You can bet money on that.
BET has been given over 20+ years to get itself together and hasn't. It's not Viacom's fault but who started it off bad--the Johnson's.
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By: Dianne on 6/29/2010 12:37PM
utternots,
Is the Cathy Hughes you mentioned, the same Kathy Hughes mentioned by
Ron Suskind,Washington,D.C. journalist, who wrote about her as W. "second Mom"; same woman who blew the trip to Saudi Arabia with Condi Rice to lecture the women students in the college at Jeddah? I think the topic was why aren't you allowed to drive cars for yourself?
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By: J. Johnson on 6/29/2010 3:50PM
I was about to switch from Direct TV to comcast but after reading this article I am going to stay with Direct TV Comcast is wrong and I will stress importance this Boycott of Comcast to all my friends and rquest them to do the same with thier friendsit is time for us as Afro American to show our strenth in the numbers that reflects the power we do have through how and who we spend our hard erned money with
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By: Harold B. Pritchett on 7/11/2010 2:29PM
People in opposition to Comcast Cable – Wilmington, Delaware residents to boycott Comcast Cable.
Comcast Cable wants to shut-down Wilmington, Delaware’s Community Television Channel 28 and Channel 190. Black Community leaders and residents are speaking out against Comcast Cable and the monopoly grip the corporation has on the future of technology in the city. Minority leaders in Wilmington, Delaware verbalize their concern against Comcast Cable during the franchise renewal process to the Cable Video and Telecommunications Commission of Wilmington, Delaware on the Needs and Community review for the future of Comcast Cable in the city. Wilmington, Delaware community leaders want: channels for governmental meetings to be aired, educational channels for the local schools, public channels for the citizens-at-large, continued live leased access television, and fully-staffed production studios that trains people in media making and citizen journalism. Comcast Cable had promised a component of cable television would give citizens access to local television but refused to develop access after they were awarded the city of Wilmington’s franchise agreement 12 years ago. Now the residents are set to drop Comcast Cable as a video service provider during the franchise renewal process. Wilmington residents want local community channels to continue “live” cablecast. Comcast Cable’s franchise expires October 2010. The people own the right-of-ways and the air waves not a corporation or the government. Wilmington’s cable channel 28 was the stepping stone to the political support of current Vice President Joe Biden, who appeared on many local channel 28 television shows to sustain his career.
For more information Google: People in Opposition to Comcast Cable.
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