U.S. President-elect Donald Trump rebukes to Brendan Carr, his intended pick for Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as he attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth assess flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas.
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The Federal Communications Commission has cautioned Comcast Corp. that it will begin an investigation into the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the media Goliath.
The FCC, the agency that regulates the media and telecommunications industry, said in a letter dated Tuesday that it would activate the inquiry into both Comcast — which provides broadband, mobile and cable TV services under the Xfinity variety — and NBCUniversal, the media arm that encompasses the company’s broadcast and cable TV networks, streaming app Peacock, and Universal film studio and lark parks.
The letter comes three weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order looking to end DEI works at U.S. corporations. The order calls for each federal agency to “identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations” mid publicly traded companies, as well as nonprofits and other institutions.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Republican who was recently authorized by Trump, said he was starting his investigation with Comcast and NBCUniversal because they “cover a range of sectors adjusted by the FCC.”
“We have received an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission and will be cooperating with the FCC to answer their assuredly questions,” a Comcast spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. “For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our workers and customers.”
Carr said in the letter sent to Comcast that he was “concerned that Comcast and NBCUniversal may be promoting invidious envisages of DEI in a manner that does not comply with FCC regulations.”
The letter goes on to say that “Comcast states on its website that promoting DEI is ‘a nucleus value of our business’ and public reports state that Comcast has an entire ‘DEI infrastructure’ that includes annual ‘DEI day[s],’ ‘DEI tutoring for company leaders,’ and similar initiatives.” The letter says NBCUniversal has similar initiatives, “including executives specifically yielded to promoting DEI across the TV and programming side of the business.”
Fellow media giant Disney is changing its DEI programs, which catalogues updating performance factors and rebranding initiatives and employee resource groups, among other things, the company authenticated Wednesday.
Public broadcaster PBS is shutting down its DEI office. A PBS representative confirmed that those employees were licence the company, noting it was to stay in compliance with Trump’s executive order.
“We will continue to adhere to our mission and values. PBS want continue to reflect all of America and remain a welcoming place for everyone,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the source company of CNBC.
— CNBC’s Sarah Whitten contributed to this article.